Lucas of Tazmily
by crabbyTomato
Summary: Tazmily was destroyed by the Pigmask Army. Lucas, having lost everything, goes to begin a new life in a foreign country. However, the boy named Lucas can hear them think. The boy named Lucas knows his way through the hallways of the mind. How will he deal with those abilities and those who pursue it no matter the cost? Will Ness help him retain his sanity, or is he also a target?
1. Chapter 1 - Invasion

**Chapter 1 - Invasion**

 **Tazmily**

The heavyset, black-clad Pigmask General unleashed a flood of screaming orders at the face of a soldier who stood at attention in front of him. The smaller subordinate squealed and relayed the orders to the other soldiers. One of the portly officers raised a radio in front of his mouth to direct the the convoy of armored vehicles, waiting impatiently on top of a hill facing a small village, still asleep through the dawn. Unhurried, the massive tanks cranked their necks, aiming the large cannons towards the rows of small buildings that made up the bulk of the town.

The general yelled again.

Right on cue, the row of tanks fired ceaselessly, unleashing hell on the village. The air itself vibrated from the deafening sound. The general nonchalantly raised his stout gloved hands to steady his helmet on top of his head, shielding his ears. Once the shelling ceased, the row of buildings that used to be the village had turned into a pile of flames and rubble. The air reeked of death. Satisfied, the general raised a pair of binoculars towards his eyes, surveying the destruction. This unbelievably uncivilized village called Tazmily was the only settlement on Nowhere Islands. The Pigmasks were bent on annexing the whole archipelago, but the restive village proved to be a thorn in their throat, preventing them from swallowing the main island. The higher ups decided on this radical solution; raze the damned village to the ground.

The subordinate Pigmask eyed his superior curiously, wondering how did he think? The simple grunt who manned a Pork Bean had never seen anyone command a battalion to demolish an entire village over the heads of its inhabitants, and remain stone-faced. The general wore a rigid, expressionless face, displaying no remorse, happiness or anticipation. Maybe that was why he earned his title as general. Maybe that's why…

 _Rat-atatatatatatatat_ …

Soldiers hauling chain guns aimed their crosshairs at the fleeing villagers. There were still rats burrowing in the rubble. The pigmasks had to exterminate them the old-fashioned way, otherwise the rats might regroup and resist. The general motioned for the tanks to begin advancing. Slowly, the monstrous machines crawled on top of the cobblestone road, the slates cracking under the rolling tank tracks.

Hit hard. Hit in the right place. Hit with all your might.

That was the general's motto, which he was following to the letter now. The tanks blasted in consecutive bangs, the imposing machines drudged through the smog-filled air like dragos coming back from the dead. Through the dust, silhouettes of men appeared. Whether they were fleeing or attacking did not matter; they were gunned down mercilessly.

"Infantry!" the general yelled, raising his hand. Hordes of swine-headed troopers marched into the smog. The subordinate shivered, wondering how death first thing in the morning must be like.

 _Rat-atatatatatatatat… Boom!_

More killing.

* * *

Tazmily was completely destroyed by noon.

Smog and dust mostly cleared by then, only a few columns of acrid black smoke rose here and there. All of the few buildings that made the village were obliterated. A row of Pigmask soldiers stood in what used to be the town square, aiming their shotguns at an opposing row of villagers, their clothes were torn and their faces were covered with soot. They couldn't flee to the forest up north because tanks blocked the way there too. Some of them were innocent civilians, and some were almost certainly rebels. It was anyone's guess who was which, but such trivial issues were beneath the general. He ordered a few soldiers to mount a big machine gun on a tripod, its muzzle facing the row of disheveled Tazmilites. Some understood what was going on, the others did not wish to understand.

"Kill them, and bury them where they fall," the general said with a markedly bored expression on his face. He flipped his cape and motioned for his subordinate to start the Pork Bean. The soldier could not believe his ears.

Even when he heard the gunfire and screams, he could not believe his ears.

He had heard tall tales about the Pigmask brutality and cruelty, but hearing about cruelty was nothing in comparison with seeing it firsthand, and sitting a few feet across from the man who ordered all those people killed. The general sat straight-backed next to his subordinate and clasped his fingers, wearing a contented smile like a child who had just finished a bar of chocolate. Meanwhile, the terrified soldier could not muster enough courage to look at his general this time, shakily starting the hovering vehicle, and sped towards New Pork City.

* * *

When the noise subsided and the Pigmasks had left, whatever was left of Tazmily shook in fear, anger and stupefaction.

There was a wide pit next to the town square ruins that was hastily dug and filled, but its significance was plainly obvious. Cautiously, a few surviving villagers walked through the still-smoldering debris, looking for something. Anything.

An angry flush crossed a strong-armed, goateed man's face. He tearfully began screaming curses and oaths at the Pigmask army, then collapsed on the ground, banging his fist against the dusty rubble. A brunette woman dressed in a torn purple skirt knelt beside him, trying to comfort the distraught man.

"They murdered my son, Caroline," he wailed, "Those swine bastards killed Fuel!"

"They shot Bronson.. Wess.. Mapson," Caroline whispered, allowing a few tears to escape her eyes, patting the man on his shoulders. The other two men looked around.

"Quiet, Lighter. I think I heard something," a clean-shaven young man in a rounded straw hat said. Lighter glowered angrily at him.

"What did you say?" Lighter hissed, his face tightening into a grim scowl. He stood up and stepped towards hat-wearing man.

"H-he's right, L-L-Lighter," the other, a mustached middle-aged man wearing a red shirt and a white hat stammered, "I-I hear something t-too."

The four of them listened carefully. They could hear a distant muffled noise that sounded like a child crying. It was unlikely they were experiencing group hallucination, since they clearly heard the sound coming out from somewhere underneath the rubble. They frantically rushed towards the source. Yes, they could clearly hear a soft whimper from underneath the rubble. They tried digging through with their nails, but it was too hot to touch. Lighter grabbed a shovel with a cracked wooden shaft that lied a few feet ahead. He desperately dug in the debris, shovelling it away left and right. Finally, they saw a pale child's hand, but it was moving. A few minutes later, they dug up a small sooted blond head trying to cough. The kid finally stood up on his feet, hoisted by three arms. He was in horrible shape, but alive. None knew how, but it was a miracle that this child lived. Lighter and the other men clung to the boy and hugged him, not caring about the bruises and broken bones that he possibly had. This child emerged from the rubble and flames, telling them that their hometown was still alive.

This boy was named Lucas.

Lucas of Tazmily.

* * *

Despite living a little away from Tazmily, and despite his ceaseless coughing and hacking, Grandpa Alec was a good man.

Alec had a wide beard and wore large, rounded eyeglasses that obscured his eyes. His thick white mustache sometimes snuck inside his mouth whenever he was talking, so he usually licked it out with the tip of his tongue.

"Luke, m'boy," Alec said, licking a few wayward hairs on his upper lip and adjusting his brown hat, "This country's full of opportunity, believe me."

They were on a gigantic ship, cruising the blue ocean that stretched eternally everywhere. The ship was named the 'White Ship', but it was ironically devoid of any white color, opting for depressing grey everywhere if it wasn't discolored with heaven knows what. Lucas had his left arm in a sling, wore a beat up leather jacket that had lost its color, and a similarly worn brown jeans that stretched a little too widely for his slight frame. He stared impassively at the infinite waters, clear signs of pain and misery on his little face. It was heartbreaking to see such a jaded expression on a face so young, Alec thought, sipping a foul-smelling liquid from a bottle that never left his person.

"The world is full of scoundrels," Alec said ominously, placing a wrinkly, suntanned hand on Lucas' hunched shoulder, "Heh, don't you believe me, kid? Lemme pull your little ear until it gets all red. When Grandpa Alec says the world is full of - hic - bastards, he means it. Heck, those lousy sods think I'm just a drunken old coot, but I notice everything. _Everything_ , I say!"

"But grandpa—" Lucas said weakly.

"Not a word!" Alec interrupted, "Take that madman, King P or whatever. He up and decided to burn the whole damn islands to hell, and that heckler swine Fassad who up and -hic- decided to join in his mad cause. They destroyed poor little Tazmily. Killed my sweet Hinawa. You'll see, Lucas. You'll see the pig king is a perfidious, backstabbing swine. He'll have Fassad for lunch one day. And they say I'm a good-for-nothing drunkard. May the Magypsies curse me if I was proven wrong."

Lucas returned his gaze to the ocean.

* * *

His name was Lucas. He was the son of Flint and Hinawa, and he had a twin brother named Claus. As of today, he was 8 years old.

Certainly, he did not know the exact details, but he had a vague recollection of what happened from his memories, grandpa's rants and whatever he read after the war years later. He only knew he was just a regular kid, enjoying playing with his twin brother, swimming in the nearby lake and visiting his grandpa to play with the dragos. During the evening, his mother would make them omelettes and sit on their bedside to tell them bedtime stories and sing lullabies with her soothing voice. He still remembers sleeping to the sound of his twin's rising and falling chest.

One morning, he woke up to his mother's screaming and howling. "Tanks! They surrounded the village," she repeated hysterically. He didn't understand what she meant, but he and his twin poked their heads outside the window to see the lovely big things that looked like metal dragos standing in a tight line at the town gate. They squealed in joy, not understanding what was so scary about the metal dragos. Hinawa nervously grasped his arm and grabbed Claus' with her other hand, then she hurried out of the house after placing a few items in a cloth bag that she slung on her shoulder.

"Evacuate. We do not…. Street," a heavily-accented voice boomed from a loudspeaker somewhere. Hinawa lost control over her stomach. She leaned against the wall and emptied her breakfast on the floor before hurrying to the street, still holding her twins' hands in her arm. Their brown dog, Boney, followed behind the frightened family. Lucas saw others, men, women and children running in blind panic. He saw his dad arguing with their neighbor Bronson, who held a large crossbow.

"Get rid of this thing, you'll get us all killed," Flint snapped at Bronson, who dropped the bow after a moment of hesitation. Lucas remembered his mother sobbing and crying while she ran through a back alley. He remembered the soldiers standing by their tanks, drawing their weapons at the fleeing villagers.

"This side's closed," Bronson shouted in panic.

Terror began seeping in Lucas' soul. He whimpered then burst into tears, clutching his mother's dress.

"Shh, darling, shh," his mother tried soothing him with her shaky voice, but he cried harder. Claus began tearing up as well, hugging his twin close as the ground began shaking underneath them with tank fire. The scared people huddled, some prayed silently while the kids bawled. Then..

Why did he remember that part vividly?

Usually a typical description would've been 'I heard a loud sound, then everything went black', but Lucas remembered everything happening down to the heartbeat. The universe slowed down as he clearly saw a shell slam against the wall they were behind. He could vividly see the color draining from his brother's face, who pushed him out of the way just as the wall crumbled on top of him and their parents. He could count every brick and speck of dust that landed on his body, where had it landed and what bruise or broken bone it had caused. He clearly remembered his vision filling with black as he was buried under debris, then the last bit of air disappeared, and he felt like he was being choked. Did he lose consciousness? Maybe, but he remembered hearing the tanks screeching a few meters away from where he was stuck.

Why didn't he die? The only explanation he could come up with was that 'his time hadn't come yet'. For Claus, Hinawa and Flint, their time was on the morning of the 20th of April that year, but Lucas survived until the others dug him out.

* * *

The days that followed his family's death were nightmarish. He lived with his grandfather on Mt. Oriander, The sound of bullets and explosions became commonplace, and Alec was becoming more apprehensive and nervous.

"Those swine-headed bastards will slaughter us all," he told Lucas everyday, "You'll see, m'boy. If we stay here, they'll make their bullets from our eyeballs."

So they fled Tazmily. And Nowhere Islands.

"In the west, there's a different world, Luke," Alec told him, "A free world away from all those massacres, and I'll be damned if they do not take in the likes of us."

And that's how 8-year-old Lucas ended up with his old grandfather on a ship bound to Eagleland, bidding farewell to his home that was taken by the Pigmasks.

The days that ensued on top of the White Ship were gruelling. The refugees fought over everything, whether it was a few crumbs of food, a mouthful of water or a pretty girl that hadn't succumbed to hunger yet. They always fought over everything. Lucas had lost track of time during the long trip, but eventually news came up of seagulls sighted above the ship. Everyone hurried above board and huddled to watch that indeed there were seagulls sporadically appearing in the foggy sky. Lucas saw massive towers peering through the fog from afar. One in particular stood remarkably taller than the rest, lights flashing from its very top. Alec placed his hand on Lucas' shoulder.

"See that big one in the middle? That's the Monotoli building, my boy," Alec said, a wistful smile on his face, "Geldegarde Monotoli grew up poor, but he eventually became the richest man in Eagleland. See what I tell you about this country bein' the land of opportunities?"

Lucas felt tears stream down his face, not because he was touched by Monotoli's success story, but out of fear that the tower would somehow topple over and sink their ship. Lucas had a lurching feeling in his guts that Eagleland won't be the perfect place his grandfather painted it out to be.

Yet there he was, a young Tazmilite immigrant, entering Eagleland to start a new, unsure life.

* * *

 **Hey! I had an idea while working on Chapter 12 of my other fanfic, so I'm starting a story about Lucas losing his family and home to a Nazi-like invasion and start a new life in a foreign country. Please tell me what do you guys think of this so far. :D**


	2. Chapter 2 - A Few Years Later

**Chapter 2 - A Few Years Later**

 **Onett, Eagleland**

In an Onett school classroom, a group of kids sat restlessly, pretending to pay attention to the teacher in front of them.

There was this pretty blonde girl sitting at the front, oblivious to the two little pranksters behind her and chatting animatedly with a Middle Eastern-looking boy evident from his olive skin and charcoal hair. A few rows at the back, sat a blond boy with a peculiar hairstyle and an emotionless face. It was Lucas, now twelve years old. He looked well and wore cleaner clothes, but he still retained the prematurely hardened air to him.

As one of his dad's friends put it, "The kid apparently had a tormented childhood, if he had a childhood at all." He was now the foster child of an Eaglelander couple from Onett, who applied for adopting 'Migrant Eastern Children' after his grandfather Alec had died two years ago from tuberculosis. It was a miracle Alec had survived for sixty-eight years with his heavy drinking and frequent chest illnesses.

".. And this, children, is why we fought the war for the freedom of the world, and otherwise, we wouldn't be where we are now," Teacher spoke, shaking Lucas out of his reverie. The woman directed a piercing, assertive look at the kids, although she wore a nice artificial smile, "Now, who would like to talk about the war?" She directed her falcon gaze to a small, shivering raised hand that belonged to the aforementioned pretty girl, "Angela, my dear! Do tell."

"Porky w-was a bad man," The blonde braided girl stood up shyly, "Papa told me that Mr. President saved our lives, and all our toys that the Pigmasks would've taken away," she stammered.

"Bravo, Angela!" The teacher clapped her hands daintily, "Now who else? Ah, Lucas, dear. Please stand up and talk."

Then something happened.

Lucas could clearly hear her inside his head, speaking as if she were in a large, empty room, her echoing voice taunting him, _'Come on, you filthy Islander. What do you know about anything to begin with?'_

Seconds ago, he heard her scoff at Angela when she was speaking, _'Ugh, that little idiot. Damn, I hate kids. Why in the world did I pick a shit job like teaching?'_

Lucas slowly stood up, an unsure frown adorning his face. His teacher still looked at him in the eyes.

 _'_ _He's got the weirdest face. And look at his dumb hair. How could someone have stupid hair like that and still be allowed to live?'_

By the time Lucas fully stood up, his face was beet red at the excess of insults he was hearing.

"I'm not filthy, and my hair isn't dumb," he gritted edgily in a good Eagleland accent. The woman looked stunned, as if she had stepped on a live wire. The other kids roared in laughter, some nervously laughed and the others threw scolding remarks at Lucas. A few tense moments passed.

"Y-you'll have to stay two hours after s-school," the teacher said in a shaky voice, "You will write 'I shall respect my teachers' 200 times on the blackboard, you hear?"

Lucas stared at his desk as the kids whispered noisily around him. He did not need to hear what they were saying, since he knew what were they going to say.

 _'_ _He's totally demented'_

 _'_ _All those Tazmily kids are loopy'_

 _'_ _She didn't ask him to bring his parents. He's an orphan with no family.'_

 _'_ _They say Porky slaughtered his family'_

 _'_ _Oh-ho-ho. That's why he went mad.'_

Lucas heard their conversations with his ear and mind, but he couldn't find anything to say back. Silently, Lucas sat down, directing an infuriated glare towards his classmates. He wished if those kids' families were crushed under barrelling tanks, so they knew what they joked about.

* * *

This wasn't the first time it happened.

Ever since Lucas arrived to Eagleland, he knew he had the ability to enter the minds of other people. At first he never questioned why he could do it. He even thought it was not a unique thing at all — somehow he assumed everybody could do it, so he never asked. However, this ability wasn't voluntary and he couldn't command it. Sometimes, he could plainly hear and see other people's thoughts, and on a lot of occasions, nothing happened at all. When it happened, he could hear thoughts in their owner's voice clearly echoing somewhere in his brain, or see imaginations that weren't his. Others were bewildered when he surprised them with what they were thinking before they said it, and slowly, Lucas realized this was his own little secret, and he shouldn't tell a soul about it. He didn't come up of a name for 'it', but the 12-year old boy yet had to know about something called 'extrasensory phenomena', or the ability to sense the external world with one's mind. He was also able to communicate his thoughts to people as well as listening in on their thoughts. The problem was still that he couldn't control it according to his whim. He would focus on the back of a person's head, then the 'thing' happened and their thoughts begun flowing inside his head, or nothing happened at all.

Despite his young age, Lucas knew a lot about this world. He came to realize that people were two-faced liars. Hypocritical, insensitive, greedy and self-serving to the point of revulsion. The brutal truth made the boy more introverted, opting for listening, not talking. He always wore a stern scowl, the dreary look in his light blue eyes looked like an old man who had seen and known everything.

* * *

Lucas trudged back to his home, his backpack lazily slung on his shoulder. His dog, a large Saint Bernard whom Lucas insisted on naming him Boney, bolted out of his wooden shelter, excited at the sight of his owner. Lucas patted his dog's warm back, giving the dog a small smile. Only with this dog he knew sincerity. Animals couldn't think in words, but they wore their emotions on their metaphorical sleeves. Whenever Lucas read his mind, he sensed a flood of sincere emotions. Adoration, excitement, fear, happiness.. Whenever the dog was scared, he did not hide his fear, and when he was happy he never hid it behind his pride. Boney always hopped around in excitement whenever he was happy. Animals never hid their feelings, which was certainly a good point for them.

After briefly playing with his dog, he walked into the kitchen to find his - adoptive - mother bent on chopping something with her knife over the stove. She was a gorgeous blonde 35-year old woman, but she had a defective uterus, so adoption was the only way for her to have a child to scold once he returned home.

"Luca! You're late, today," she chastised disapprovingly, pointing a wooden spoon at his direction, "I told you not to let the dog into the kitchen. Would you also go wash your hands? Look at you, sweetie. You look like you just came out of a mine. Where do you get yourself in all that dirt, young man?"

He didn't answer back. He had stopped replying a long time ago. He stepped into the bathroom to wash his hands, breathing in the chemical scent of mom's favorite brand of soap. It smelled like 'jasmine' according to the label, but it smelled like anything but. He trotted upstairs towards his room to set down his bag and change his clothes. He found his dad in the garage working on his car. His face and arms were covered in grease.

"Hey, Lucas," his dad said wiping his forehead with the back of his hand, not lifting his nose from the hood, "Heard your mom yelling at you. Was it the dog again?"

Lucas nodded, "Yeah. She always yells."

"Aw, don't say that," he said, raising his head to give Lucas a mildly annoyed look, "She yells at you because she loves you."

In the back of his head, Lucas heard dad's voice booming, _Goddamn little shit. It's not enough that I pay for the food on your plate and the clothes on your back even though you're not my own blood? If it wasn't for me you'd be begging in the streets of Fourside already. Only that bitch's need for motherhood is forcing me raise your sorry ass._  
Lucas had enough. He turned away and walked back to his room. This time he could hear his mom's thoughts as she flashed him a loving smile while shuffling around in the kitchen.

 _He's so weird,_ she thought, _but fun to watch, like an exotic animal. Yeah, he's totally an exotic animal. I can't love him like a real son and I never will, but he's entertaining to keep around, and I'm doing what I have to for him. He should be grateful. I'm offering him Eaglelander parents. That's like, the best thing a child could ever have!_

As for whatever the happy couple thought of each other, Lucas could write volumes about that.

"Hello, darling," dad would croon, hugging his wife from behind. _Fucking cow._

"Hey, honey," mom would respond, leaning into his wide chest. _Cheap bastard._

Dad believed in his wife's gullibility, and mom believed in her husband's stinginess and idiocy. That, however, did not stop them from going to cocktail parties, where dad would propose fairly creative toasts and chat away about the funniest thing that happened to him when he went fishing last year.

Lucas often spent time in his room alone reminiscing about past memories. There was a time when his mother's soft voice whispered to him and his twin. He missed playing hide and seek behind the well in the center of town as Claus and Fuel looked for him while a distant sound of a ringing bell echoed through the serene air. He missed his father's farm and mother's omelettes. He painfully missed his brother. Lucas blinked away tears from his eyes, forcing the memories into the farthest reaches of his mind.

* * *

Pokey Minch was a menace. Every school had its own clique of bullies, and Pokey was the undisputed leader of that group. He was two years older than Lucas, heavily built and vicious. He had an obnoxious, yet very influencing personality. Such a kid tended to attract a gang of lackeys. Three other kids who had weaker personalities but similar vile dispositions always surrounded him, parading through school. Their only goal seemed to be making life more miserable for other students, especially the weaker ones. Adults who saw Pokey predicted he would make a superb gang leader, or a pretty successful CEO once he inherits his father's corporations, if he passed through school. Pokey had a proud record of straight Fs, and the least boy who received praise from teachers, not that he cared. He made tormenting politer students or the more academically-successful ones his own business. His father was a giant business magnate who flaunted his fortune lo and fro. Their family recently came under scrutiny for their allegedly distant familial ties with the Pigmask leader, Porky Minch. Despite their immense wealth, the Minches were an extremely dysfunctional family, their constant, loud bickering and fighting ensured that few neighbors lived near their gigantic mansion of a house. Perhaps that was the reason why Pokey felt the psychopathic urge to torment those who led happier lives. He would pull a little girl's hair, punch a boy in the teeth for looking at him funny, and kick another short, thin boy for being a nerd.

Pokey could have imitated his distant relative and squealed in delight at the sight of Lucas. For him, the Tazmily boy was the perfect bullying victim; Lucas was a polite, weak and reserved overachiever. Add to that the fact he was an orphaned foreigner. All of those were irredeemable mistakes that the Tazmilite had to pay for. It started pretty standard at first, giving Lucas wedgies, throwing his books on the floor, sneaking lizards in the collar of his shirt or spilling ink on top of his head. The chubby bully received a peculiar rush from watching the Tazmilite suffer.

* * *

Then one day, it started as a dare.

Lucas was going home after another long day at school, when he spotted the gang of jerks blocking his way. He immediately thought of turning back, but he didn't want to please them by making them think he ran away in fright, so he decided to walk until he was mere inches away from the portly bully, who placed his hands on his wide hips and smirked in malice. Lucas could imagine that smirk on Pokey's face years later while either signing multi-billion dollar deal or robbing a bank.

"Hey, wimp!" A foot stuck out in Lucas' path, almost tripping him.

Lucas raised a silent glare towards his opponent, but kept his composure. He tried to continue walking, but Pokey's hands whipped down to his collar. Lucas found himself gripped by the neck, his feet were hovering above the ground by a few inches.

"What, shrimp. Trying to play it like a man, eh?" The other bullies copied their leader's smirk. Lucas squirmed, trying to escape. He attempted a few clumsy punches, none landing on Pokey's face. The punks laughed at him.

* * *

 _Rat-atatatatatatatat… Boom!_ _The Pigmask general glanced at his watch in boredom. 10:00 AM_

 _This side's closed!_

 _Shh, darling, shh._

* * *

Pokey leaned at the shorter boy, their noses almost touching.

"Let me tell you something, shrimp," Pokey said, speaking in an even tone to sound menacing, "I'll tell you that I _despise_ niggers and all of you Tazmily sons of bitches."

Lucas suddenly felt he was reading the bully's mind. He could hear him clearly thinking in a shaken tone.

 _I have to break him. I.. I have to.. He seems scarily tough to crack, but my pride stops on destroying him. I gotta make him scream like girls._

Lucas felt grateful for that thought. He realized that Pokey somehow feared him as much as he feared the fat bully. Pokey was hiding immense insecurity and wasn't as confident as he was trying to sound like. Lucas took a breath, gathered all of his strength in a fist and aimed a terrifyingly powerful punch to the other blond's right eye.

 ** _'_** ** _YEOWWWWCH! THAT HURT LIKE A MOTHERFUCKER, YOU DAMN SWINE!'_**

Pokey did not scream out, though. He tossed Lucas on the ground and solemnly felt his injured eye socket. He must have had an unnatural ability to restrain himself from screaming in pain despite all the howling Lucas could hear in his head. A moment later, Pokey mentally calmed down enough to take a deep breath and turn towards his friends.

"Fellas, he dared to punch me," he yelled, "That little piece of shit had the face to punch the Great Pokey Minch!"

"Haaah! Let's burn him alive!"

"We'll feed him to stray dogs!"

"No, no," Pokey calmly raised a hand to stop them, "The Tazzie is a brave kid. He's got guts. I say we try and take him to the McKinley's."

"Woo-hoo!"

"Hurray!" They cheered, a sadistic gleam was visible in their eyes.

Lucas found himself being dragged by the scruff of his neck to the McKinley's house, the abandoned house at the edge of town that everybody around feared and talked about in a hushed tone. Some adults passed by and watched everything, but nobody intervened. They annoyedly shook their heads or uttered, "damn boys" or "kids these days". In fact, Lucas would've never asked for their aid. His dignity refused to ask for an authority to act on his behalf no matter who it was. That's why he never told on Pokey's antics against him to his parents or the principal. Had he done that, the bully would have stayed out from his hair, but he wouldn't have counted it as his own victory. This was his own problem, and he was going to deal with it by himself.

* * *

 **Back again with another chapter. :P**

 **hellolord307 : Thanks mate!  
**

 **Connor the speling pro : Thanks a lot, man. :D Writing is quickly becoming a fun hobby, but I'm sure I still got a lot to learn. **

**As for the hopping around, I'm surprised (and glad) you actually liked it. I thought it sounded like the story was scattered all over the place.**

 **Ah yes.. _Details_. See why I prefer first person narration? XD I'm seriously hopeless at describing things, mostly because I tend to imagine things in a tunnel-visioned way, so I have to pay extra attention to details that might be left out. I'll try the metaphor thing too.**

 **You think that line sounded like something from an esteemed book? *blush* That's very nice of you to say. Really. Thanks. ^_^**


	3. Chapter 3 - Haunted House

**Chapter 3 - Haunted House**

 **Onett, Eagleland**

 _ **5:30 pm**_

The haunted house appeared from the end of the street.

There was a high fence surrounding the property, its gate was sealed with a rusted chain locked in place with a massive, heavy lock. The front lawn, rife with overgrown weeds and long-dead flower plants, gave way to the massive old two-storey house. The windows and doors were barricaded, and signs of old age loomed over everything. Ever since the last tenants fled the house screaming at the top of their lungs at two in the morning, nobody dared to live in it. The house yet retained the original owners' name, after the McKinleys who were murdered in it twenty years ago.

(The boys approached the abandoned place in brisk footsteps, dragging Lucas behind them)

It was a pretty well-known story around Onett. One day, the paper boy noticed there was a higher-than-usual number of milk bottles and newspapers lying at the front door, which meant the old couple were either abroad or..

(Night seemed to approach rapidly this time of the year.)

The neighbors next door couldn't believe the McKinleys were out when the boy casually told them so. They knew that Howard McKinley, a retired old pensioner in his seventies, had recently sprained his ankle and wouldn't be able to leave the house for a long while. They notified the neighborhood policeman, Jonathan, who felt obliged to lift up the kitchen's window and sneak into the house to investigate. And what did he find?

("Move it, wimp. The house awaits.")

The detectives said the murder weapon was an axe they had found lodged in the side of the husband's head, and the perpetrator had probably snuck through the backdoor, where the wife found him in front of her in the kitchen. The husband's turn came next when he was sitting in the living room listening to his gramophone, which was playing a loud song that covered up the screaming from the kitchen next door. Howard was hard of hearing anyway. Whoever committed the crime did not steal anything, so he could have been a murdering psychopath or that he might have had a personal vendetta with the aged couple. The Onett Police were not able to find any leads they could follow, living up to their notoriety as the worst law enforcement in Eagleland — They did set up roadblocks for a few days around the house. The case was closed and shelved forever, but the house refused to let it be forgotten.

("Can you open the gate, Minch?")

Since then, neighbors began to see flashing lights through the windows at night. Sometimes they heard laughs and noises. The house managed to evict three families who thought they couldn't care less about 'silly ghost tales'. Only mad people dared to enter that house. Mad people, and helpless Tazmilites.

Pokey fiddled with the lock using a short wire, then he dislodged the chain. It was obvious that he'd done this many times before. He ushered Lucas and his gang in to the front porch, which was basking in sunset, giving it an eerie glow. The place was disconcerting, but it wasn't frightening yet. It would be frightening once night fully settled in. This place would be nightmarish for perceptive people with a hyperactive imagination.

And Lucas was a perceptive kid with an overactive imagination, so he knew he was having a difficult night waiting for him.

* * *

"Here's how we're gonna play it, kid," Pokey said, noisily munching on a black stick of candy that coated his yellow teeth a disgusting black, "We're lockin' you in here. You'll stay alone in this place until tomorrow morning, then if you stay sane and in one piece by then, we'll get you out and admit that you got guts."

Lucas fixed his dishevelled clothes with his free arm and shot a challenging glare to the portly kid, "I won't play your game. I'll go home instead." Pokey finished his candy stick and flashed him a black-toothed grin.

"So be it, blondie," he said sarcastically, placing his hands on his hips making his large belly jut forward, "I always said that Tazmilites were nothing but spineless sissies. You'll go back home safe and sound, but every soul in Onett will know how much of a fucking coward you are by tomorrow."

"I'll tell the principal on you."

"Ha!" Pokey exclaimed confidently, "You can't, because you'll be like those little girls that run to mommy. You didn't stoop down to this level yet. There must be some balls hiding behind your queer pretty façade, no?"

Lucas listened in on Pokey's thoughts. _'He won't do it. I know that. This is way stronger than him.'_

Then, and only then, Lucas raised his head and straightened his pose in defiance, whipping his arm free from his captor's hold.

"Okay. I'll do it."

* * *

 _"It's a piece of cake, Lukey-boy. There's a low window at the back with its joints totally rusted. It won't lift unless forced up by at least four strong men. We'll lift it up for you to sneak in then shut it down. Your small arms won't be enough to force it open. It's needless to say that the other windows and doors are barricaded from outside."_

 _"Hee hee hee hee"_

 _"Since we're generous, we'll let you take this candle and box of matches with you. We won't leave you food or books to read. I don't think you'd have time for anything but screaming."_

* * *

Lucas climbed through the dusty windowsill, feeling cobwebs stick around his face. He coughed and spat.

Behind him, he heard the window screech as the bullies slid it shut with difficulty while they laughed.

"Good luck, Lucas."

"Don't look behind you."

"Heh heh. Don't fall asleep. Sleepers make an easy target!"

Lucas could hear them spout all sorts of laughter at him before they sealed the window. Through their guffawing chuckles, he heard one of them thinking as they left, _'He's trapped. At midnight we come in and scare him shitless. Just like we did to that Twoson boy last month.'_

It was pitch-black inside, but he patiently waited until his eyes adjusted to the dark. It would be unwise to use the candle now. It must be dinner time back home, he didn't doubt that mom was angrily wondering were did that little bastard go.. Wondering in anger, without genuine concern, of course. In the morning he would receive some slaps and kicks and possibly he would be grounded, but he won't reveal the secret of this night. He promised Pokey that.

He was certain there wasn't anything in here, since he didn't believe in ghosts. Although he truly feared his vivid imagination. That was his real enemy at the moment. His imagination was making him see a million ghosts, and smell a million rotten corpses. Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he was finally aware of his surroundings. He realized he was standing in a dusty, cobweb-infested storage room of some sort. Miraculously, that ghost with open arms turned into a hatstand, and that thing which waited for him in the corner turned out to be an old box. Lucas stepped slowly on the squeaky ground..

(Ugh, freaking squeaky floor!)

.. between the neglected furniture. A spooked mouse scurried in front of him to hide in a hole in the wall. He reached for the door and turned the knob, the door's rusty hinges loudly protesting the disturbance. He found himself in a spacious room. Perhaps it was a living or..

(Oh god, what's that smell?)

.. a dining room. Lucas decided to light up his candle. After a few fumbles with the matches, the shaky flame glowed

 _'Finally, a brave soul after all those years.'_

Who said that! Someone was thinking here. Lucas heard the thought in his head loud and clear, which meant there was someone around. But who? Lucas was completely alone. And what did that thought even mean? For the first time since he stepped in the house, he felt terror creep down his spine. He felt his hair stand on end, and his legs turn into paste. He advanced into the room nonetheless. He sensed a presence behind him. He turned his head back, but found nothing. He walked slowly further into the dining room. He would have stayed here until morning, but his curiosity drove him to investigate.

 _'He's young, but definitely brave.'_

It's that thinking again. He cursed under his breath, eyeing the wide stain on the wall. It seemed like someone had splashed a bottle of black ink on the wall, but he quickly realized it was the remains of the bloody massacre that occurred here twenty years ago.

He felt goosebumps crawl down his arms, unexplained instinctual fear gripping his soul.

"You're not scared, You're not scared," he quietly muttered to himself. That was when an old gramophone somewhere began gritting out an old ragtime song. Lucas jumped a foot in the air.

"You're not scared. Y-you're not scared!" He shakily said. He won't be scared because he _is_ scared already. The sound was coming from the next room. As if he were under a spell, he slowly walked over to the source of the music, the candle in his trembling hand sending demonic shadows over everything.

Once he stepped there, he saw the ancient gramophone on top of an even older bureau inside a large living room with a lot of furniture covered in dusty blankets. The gramophone was spinning an old record and gritting out a rough tune. They were right!

There's a ghost in this place.

If there were no ghosts, then who was that old man in a housecoat, relaxedly sitting on the couch and smoking?

* * *

The 'ghost' wasn't a transparent spectre like Lucas had imagined, but a full physical manifestation, only not leaving a shadow behind him. When Lucas took a closer glance, he realized that the right half of his head was crushed, his white hair matted in clotted blood, but the ghost's face was calm, looking at Lucas with wise, clear eyes. The boy let out a sigh, feeling his heart calming down.

After all, the old man didn't look that frightening.

 _'Step closer, Lucas, and don't be afraid. I'm sitting and listening to the same record I was when.. when I passed. Sorry I couldn't stand up since my ankle hurts, as you know.'_

"You..You know who I am?" Lucas yelled in panic, despite stepping closer to the seated man.

 _'Us ghosts know a lot of things. So do you, my boy. You have that unique ability that makes it easy for us to talk to you. Unlike other people.'_

"Were there others?"

 _'A lot of them, but we just spooked them so they leave us alone. It is hard to be cursed to sitting here until Judgement day, then having to deal with silly nosy folk. One can't have that after death, and let me tell you that I detest crowds.'_

It occurred to Lucas that a lot of people who claimed to have seen ghosts said that they looked way too real, not the transparent, spectre-y appearance popular in movies. If he could ignore the crushed half of Howard's face, he'd look like any retired old man.

The wife came in from another room. Obviously she was in the kitchen, evident from the apron she wore. Lucas noted that her neck ended without her head. The head she'd lost to an axe twenty years ago.

 _'Howie? Do we have a guest?'_ her voice boomed in Lucas' head.

 _'Not just any guest, Jane. We usually don't welcome guests, but this boy is different. He's brave and pure, Jane. He can help us.'_

"H-h-help you? How?" Lucas said, backing up a step.

 _'Of course, Luke. Ghosts are scary, but beside appearing and shrieking at mortals or maybe rattling furniture, we can do little else. We were murdered, Lucas. Hideously so. You seem to know a lot about death despite your young age.'_

"I.. I do. A lot," Lucas whispered truthfully, looking down at the ground.

 _'The ghost law is unforgiving, son. As long as our murderer remained alive and loose, eternal rest is forbidden to us. We are doomed to roam in this house until the last day of this world._

"Then.. Your killer is still alive?"

Jane's neck seeped blood to soak the dusty wooden floor. Lucas realized this was due to her remembering painful memories.

 _'Of course. He is a mad cutthroat called Everdred. When he murdered us he was a truck driver moving all around Eagleland. He never stopped murdering for pleasure, but he learned something; he learned to bury his victims so the police never found them. He is responsible for over thirty missing people._

Lucas sat on a couch, not caring about the thick layer of dust covering it. He glanced at the candle's dancing flame, thinking about the fact that he's casually talking to the ghosts of a married couple that perished twenty years ago.

"Why didn't you reach him for revenge, since you guys know where he is?" He asked. The gramophone's record finished.

 _'I told you, there's little we can do,'_ she echoed as she slid to the gramophone and put on a new record, _'Everdred is now used to the ghosts of his victims and no longer scare him.'_

"Where is he now?"

 _'Twoson. He's fifty-five now and in good health. He runs the flea market there, looking for his next axe victim.'_

"How can I help?"

 _'We'll tell you how.'_

"I don't want a deal," Lucas said, listening to the old song playing, "But I have to ask a favor of you if you need me to help you."

 _'Ask us anything.'_

"The bullies who locked me up in here are coming back at midnight for something I don't know. They want to do something to me that they'd done to some kid from Threed. Were they here last month?" He heard Howard's voice in his head.

 _'Ah, yes. They'd done it three times already. Those kids don't believe in ghosts, and they occasionally drag an unfortunate kid here and force him to spend the night, then at midnight they come and scare him. Let me tell you, they scare 'em good.'_

Jane shook her neck in empathy, _'When they brought the poor boy last month, they placed a sack on his head and hung him from the ceiling with a hook, then hit him with sticks on his groin. The boy thought ghosts were beating him. How cruel!'_

 _'In the morning, they set him free,'_ Howard added, _'By then, panic and fear must have traumatized the little wretch. All of the kids remained silent, so nobody knew about his night here.'_

Lucas was peeved, "And you two don't interfere?"

 _'We don't care about boys' silly antics. We care more about families moving in the house or homeless squatters sneaking in.'_

"But that's harsh."

 _'When your head flies off of your body, such things become hardly cruel for you, boy,'_ Jane chastised. Lucas stood up and dusted himself off, an idea began forming in his head.

"Mr. and Mrs. McKinley, I need your help to put those punks in their place," he said with a diabolical grin.

* * *

 _Hit hard. Hit in the right place. Hit with all your might. - That was the general's motto._

 _Rat-atatatatatatatat… Boom!_

 _May the Magypsies curse me if I was proven wrong._

 _This side's closed!_

 _Shh, darling, shh._

* * *

 _ **Midnight.**_

Four silhouettes stalked in front of the house, the first one held a small flashlight, the others held full bags. The first, obviously Pokey, led the march like a Pigmask commander parading through a conquered town. He was bent on scaring the Tazmilite like he had never been scared before. Pokey will make Lucas _piss_ his pants.

"P-Pokey, I'm scared," one of the punks said behind him.

"Shut up, you idiot. How would you scare when you're scared?"

"It's.. It's dark out here. It's like the trees are listening."

"Oh yeah? Well fuck you, trees," he snapped, fiddling once again with the lock. The four of them scuttled inside the lawn. Led by the flashlight, they waded through the darkness towards the hole in the kitchen Pokey had discovered and hid with a panel of wood. That way, they could sneak into the house without a noise.

"Got the blanket, Joe?" Pokey asked, taking off his jacket.

"Yeah. Got the werewolf head too."

"Where's the skull?"

"Here," Another boy said, chewing gum noisily, "The red light and chains are with Sam."

"Right."

"Good. I got the sticks and ropes. So be it," Pokey said, then glanced at his lackeys, "I want you to do your worst. Make Papa Pokey proud of y'all. Come on."

* * *

They lit up the red light while Sam - the tallest among them - wore the blanket on top of his head, covering his head. They twisted the skull on top of his head to look like a skeleton ghost that had just rose out of the grave.

"How do I look?"

"Scary as fuck."

Led by the red light that shed horrific red tones on everything, Sam began advancing..

(Ugh, freaking squeaky floor!)

.. to the storage room that Lucas no doubt hid there, scared out of his wits. At the same time, Pokey put on the werewolf costume as Joe shook the metal chains that ghosts obviously made in the movies.

There was nothing. The house was dark and quiet.

"Where is he?" Gum boy said, moving his flashlight across the room.

"Let's split up," Pokey said, his voice muffled behind the choking mask that was a little too small for his large head, "Each one of us looks in a room. And please spit that out before I punch your teeth in."

The bullies split up, not forgetting to utter muffled 'Boo's and 'Hooh's in a macabre, low tone. Pokey was the first to walk into the living room. There, he saw Lucas curled up besides his candle on the couch, looking like a forlorn, lonely animal. From behind the mask, Pokey grinned maniacally, advancing slowly towards..

(Shit, I'm sweating like a pig in this getup)

.. the body splayed on the couch. He twisted, moving his body twitchily, sounding off the supposed noises and growls a werewolf would make. He knew he'll look frightening from the low candlelight. Low-level light is supposed to give off a demonic effect. Everybody knows this. He saw the head rising up slowly. Its right side was totally shattered and covered in matted blood.

Pokey realized too late that this wasn't Lucas.

* * *

Sam moved upstairs, peering from the two small holes in his blanket, aided with a small flashlight, because Ron, the guy with the red light was searching another room. No sign of any Tazmily boys in this room. The study was dusty and empty. He tried another room. He opened the bedroom door to find an old blonde woman blocking his way. She wore an apron and her face reflected obvious kindness. He flinched, then backed away slightly. The woman looked disconcerted.

"Oh my word. You scared me, young man," she said, putting a hand to her chest, "Why are you wearing such scary clothes?"

"Wh-who are you?" He said, feeling dread pool in his stomach.

"Well, who are _you_. Where did you get that skull from?"

"I'm Sam," he said dumbly, taking off his blanket, "That skull is just a prank." He lifted the skull from the top of his head to present it to her.

(Something isn't right. Who is this old lady?)

"Oh? That's nice, Sam," the woman said, giving him a kind smile and grasped her grey locks, "Because this head is also a prank."

She said that and plucked her head clean off of her shoulders.

* * *

As for Joe, he shuffled in a different room, rattling the metal chains behind him, a flashlight stuck to his mouth shed its faint light on the surroundings.

"This place is really scary," he murmured to himself, "No wonder people think its… _haaaaaaaaunted_!" He screamed at the last part, dropping the light from his mouth when he saw a skull on top of a white blanket. Oh that was Sam. Th-Thank goodness. That was a pretty nifty costume they came up with. If Sam was here, it meant the Tazmilite wasn't around. He picked up his flashlight, silently wished if Pokey would drop this and tell them to go home. He needed his sleep.

"Hey, Sam," Joe said, yawning, "You look scary as hell, dude. Found anything?"

No response.

"S-Sam? Say something. I'm scared already, and you're not helping-"

No response.

Joe approached the blanket and took it off to see what was behind. While he was doing this he remembered something — They'd brought a white, clean blanket, but this one was dusty and discolored with stains. He remembered that as he took off the blanket to see what was behind it.

* * *

Ron held the red-tinted flashlight as he popped another piece of chewing gum into his mouth, nonchalantly looking around. He had perpetually horrible breath, so he always hid it with minted chewing gums. He wouldn't say that of course, so he pretended that chewing gum gave him an air of indifference since punks loved to look indifferent and all. He stepped into the living room, and what he saw was beyond description. His friends, Sam, Pokey and Joe were laid out on the dusty couches, looking more dead than alive. He hurried towards them, feeling his pulse race. He was examining them over the red light, when he realized someone was standing right next to him. He looked to his side, and saw an old man in a housecoat, with the better part of his skull crushed, the hair on the side of his head matted with clotted blood. He gasped, and the piece of gum lodged itself in his throat. The old man pointed towards the front door, wearing a stern scowl on his face.

"Those are your friends, I take it? Leave my house now, and never come back!" He bellowed with an otherworldly boom.

The boy never knew what happened.

He could remember running towards the door, dragging Pokey by the arm and placing an arm around Joe's shoulder, resting his messy head on his chest. Sam walked like an enthralled zombie behind them towards the door that suddenly opened. They were eventually swallowed by darkness.

It was finally calm again, save for the hysterical cackles that sprang out of Lucas' throat as he got out of his hiding spot. He had taught the bullies a harsh lesson. Perhaps harsher than necessary, because hours later, a police patrol would find them wandering aimlessly in the streets, and their interrogation would result in partial amnesia, so nobody would know where they were and what were they doing at that time. Each one of them had received his just desserts, and the trauma of their lives that would change their personality until the day they die. They would carry the very expression Lucas bore since he came to this country.

The hard face of those who had lived through their harshest experiences.

* * *

"And they received their punishment," Lucas said, laughing. Howard limped back towards his seat.

 _'Now, Lucas, it's now your turn to help us."_

"I'm ready."

 _'You will have to notify the Twoson authorities of the man's name. Everdred. You won't forget his name, okay?'_

"I won't."

 _'We shall tell you of where did he bury his victims, and you will tell the police. Know that they have unidentified fingerprints. You will tell them of his name, his current location and job."_ Jane said as she placed her head on her shoulders.

"That won't be hard," Lucas replied. It was time to bid them farewell. He realized the two ghosts would leave this world forever once Everdred is caught. The ghost woman smiled warmly at him and wrapped her arms around him.

 _'Lucas, Your gift makes you as transparent as water. You could see into people's souls and contact spirits like us. It's a blessing, but also a fairly lethal weapon. It will bring you many trials that I hope you will overcome, my dear.'_

Lucas would've leaned into the hug if she had a tangible body. He remembered the way his mother would hug him and his twin like that. He smiled widely and nodded, feeling warmth seep in his chest. He suddenly felt something wake up in his mind, as if he had an epiphany. He ignored the feeling and gave the couple another heartfelt smile, before leaving.

He never doubted the truth of Jane's words.

* * *

 **OK so Halloween isn't coming _that_ soon, but what the hey. XD Pokey is slightly OOC case you haven't noticed, but I didn't want to make a new character when Pokey Minch is a readily-available arch-villain.**

 _ **Reviews**_

 **Connor the speling pro:** **Lucas somehow lends himself perfectly to dark-themed stories. (MOTHER 3 itself can be darker than a moonless night sometimes, and Lucas hardly reacts much to a lot of events, wearing his usual |_| poker face.)**

 **"Sound a little awkward?" I looked back and there was only _awkward_ and no _little_. XD I tried patching up the best I could, but I should re-read the whole thing over to see what cringeworthy sentences that need repair. As for the scattering thing, I hope the following chapters stay around the same place/time longer.**

 **Lucas could be a Natural Victim. Like that kid who gets everyone to pick on him for no good reason other than 'I just don't like his face, or whatever'. His behavior as a recluse doesn't help him that much, too.**

 **First person spares the need to establish many characters. SO TRUE. That's the very thought I had when I came up with Pokey's friends/lackeys. If this was in 1st person POV, I would've left them unnamed à la the bully duo in Academic Acceleration, but three-lettered names FTW. :P**

 **hellolord307:** **Thank you. :) Hope you like this chapter too.**

 **Supershadow Sonic:** **Thanks. Arguably, the ending of this chapter is happy-ish. :P As for Lucas' foster parents, they don't outright hate him otherwise they wouldn't have bothered getting him, but it's just that they don't love him. That's a different thing, but can sound the same.**

 **Guest : Thanks, mate. ^_^ Glad you like this story**


	4. Chapter 4 - Off-Switch

**Chapter 4: Off-Switch**

Lucas found himself in a sunflower field just outside of Tazmily.

 _"_ _Hey, li'l bro."_

Blue eyes shot up to meet their mirror image.

 _"_ _Come on, let's play."_

Small hands tugged on his arm, and a freckled face very much like his own wore a blithe smile. Lucas stood up and followed his orange-haired twin. They ran around the field, Claus' chuckles filling the calm air. In the distance, he spotted a woman with her back turned to him. Her long, brown hair swayed in the breeze gently in harmony with her flowing red dress. Lucas smiled widely and stood next to his twin, before noticing that something was very wrong.

His own form almost towered over Claus' childish body. Claus looked up at him, smile still firmly in place.

 _"_ _Mom is just over there,"_ he said, pointing towards the woman.

Lucas felt his heart pick up its pace. Claus bolted from his place towards their mother. Lucas froze there for a beat, before hurrying behind his brother. They ran and ran, but the woman remained distant. Lucas tried calling for her, but he couldn't feel his vocal cords. He felt his legs become heavier, as if they were encased in lead.

 _Rat-atatatatatatatat_ …

 _Kill them, and bury them where they fall._

 _This side's closed!_

Hinawa materialized in front of the twins. Her face wore an anxious smile as she dropped to grasp Lucas' shoulders.

 _Shh, darling, shh._

Claus began to tear up. He hugged his twin and buried his face in his waist. Suddenly, a deafening sound exploded overhead. Claus paled and roughly shoved his brother out of the way. Lucas watched as the debris buried his twin and mother. He felt himself tip over and..

* * *

 _It's a blessing, but also a fairly lethal weapon._

He felt something distant echo in his head.

* * *

Lucas bolted upright from his bed with a start and a sharp gasp. He panted, staring wide-eyed at the space in front of him. He willed himself to calm down and took a deep breath, wiping the tears and cold sweat from his face. He flopped back down, feeling the disgusting moisture on his pillow soak the back of his neck. After he'd restored his breath and the shrill ringing in his ear had eased, he got up and walked in the dark corridor towards the bathroom. He grimaced at the blinding fluorescent light when he turned it on, but quickly adjusted. Stepping towards the mirror, he took a long look at his face. This was the sixth night in a row that he had the very same nightmare, or was it the seventh? He'd lost count. By then, he half-expected to will himself to wake up once he saw the sunflower field, but it was always as if he'd never seen it before. Sleep deprivation made itself known from the dark circles marring the skin under his bloodshot eyes. He ran a hand through his dishevelled hair, and turned on the sink. He splashed some ice-cold water on his face, feeling the cold liquid numb the tips of his fingers and sting his skin. He turned off the sink and dried his face off. Back in his room, he glanced at the wall clock that hung over his bed. It was seven o'clock on a Sunday morning, and the streets outside were very calm. He got out of his pyjamas and shimmied into his everyday clothes. After preparing a steaming thermos of coffee in the kitchen, he put on his sneakers and went outside.

* * *

It was almost a ritual for Lucas to get up very early on Sundays so he could visit the hills north of Onett. Boney always accompanied him on his weekly trek, wagging his tail happily. Lucas knelt down at his dog, patting his head and placing a leash on his collar. The pair went out of the front lawn and walked through the tranquil streets, passing through the main street. Lucas had gotten used to seeing this part of town in its sleeping state, so the contrast between now and the usual congestion hardly surprised him. He stopped by a message board to read its contents.

'CAUTION - A black van driven by this guy has been spotted racing recklessly through town. Be careful!'

There was a black-and-white photo of a man wearing a hat and a mask that covered his eyes to the left of the message. Lucas shrugged. He didn't see nor hear any black vans racing around at this hour. He ambled towards the end of the street where an unpaved road led to the town library, passing by the limestone building towards an inclined path that wove its way through the trees. He walked by a small two-storey house, but he picked up his pace to cross the fork in the road that led to the Minches' mansion. Not even animals liked approaching that place, evident by Boney's whimpering whine. After fifteen minutes, he arrived at a run-down shack inhabited by a shady person that always reeked of garlic and sweat. At last, Lucas found himself standing on top of the highest hill in Onett, Meteorite Hill. He sat down at the cliff edge and looked at the sweeping view of the still-sleeping town, sipping his coffee. Boney lied down next to him.

He hated the way Onett could pass for a modernized Tazmily.

He could just pretend the house he'd just passed by to be his old family's home, only painted white instead of the natural brown lumber, the sea was just as calm and blue as the vast ocean from his memories. The Minch house was thankfully concealed behind the cliffs he'd just ascended. It was amusing how Pokey and his cohorts had given him a wide berth ever since that night at the McKinley's. He looked wistfully at the street where the haunted house used to stand, before the city decided to bulldoze it months ago. He couldn't believe a whole year had passed since he had a friendly chat with the McKinley ghosts. He could still remember it like yesterday. A year had passed since he wrote to the Twoson Police Department, informing them of unbelievable details and indicting evidence about some old flea market peddler called Al Everdred. News of the serial killer's arrest made headlines all over the country, but nobody knew who originally wrote that letter with the childish handwriting. At least he was glad that Howard and Jane had finally found their rest.

Ever since that night at the McKinleys' house, Lucas' powers were steadily growing. He realized he could move small things around with his mind, and conjure up luminous blue-green shapes. His mind reading ability was becoming more sensitive, but grew more uncontrollable each passing day. On some lucky days he wouldn't hear a single thought around him, but on most days, the thoughts of everyone around him poured into his mind at once, the jumbled noise nearly driving him insane. Lucas avoided crowds whenever he could; listening to people's thoughts embittered him against them, choosing to withdraw from everyone else as if they were vials of caustic acid.

Boney stood up, shaking Lucas out of his brooding thoughts. He followed the canine's gaze down towards another human and dog duo exiting the small house next to the Minches. Lucas could hear his companion's excited emotions at seeing another fellow dog, but his own attention fixated upon the human. It was a teenage boy around his own age (Just like Claus if he was alive), wearing denim shorts and a yellow-and-blue striped shirt (Claus' shirt was just a shade lighter than that), and his dark hair was hidden under a red and blue cap. The kid slung a baseball bat over his shoulder and ruffled the grey fur behind his pet's ears (Claus used to do that to Boney), and went downhill with his dog. Lucas realized he was staring intently at an otherwise unremarkable person, but the dark-haired boy stirred odd emotions within him. Out of curiosity, Lucas concentrated his gaze at the back of the other's head. He heard nothing.

He couldn't point a finger on it, but for some reason Lucas didn't like that capped boy very much.

* * *

Ness.

The boy's name was Ness.

Not that Lucas was actively keeping watch for him, but the kid turned out to be the school's baseball captain. He was under the blond's nose all the time, but Lucas never noticed anyone around him, being the social recluse that he was. On numerous occasions, Lucas would try listening for Ness' thoughts, but he always came back empty-handed. He would hear everyone else's thoughts clearly, but the red-capped boy's mind was always silent. Girls would squeal Ness' name whenever he passed through the hallways, and some beefy guys would give him a high-five or a fist bump. In short, he was an absolute 'jock' as the term goes. Those bunch were loud, obnoxious and looked down on everyone else. He wanted nothing to do with those meatheads, especially their captain.

 _'_ _Mmm, Ness is so.. hot. I want that,'_ one ditzy cheerleader's thoughts made its way to Lucas' head while swooning over the capped boy. He scrunched his face in disgust at the sight of the skimpy-clothed girl snaking her limbs around the baseball player. He wondered what the other thought of the excessive female attention upon him. He stared at the red-capped kid and listened in.

Nothing. Again.

Lucas grew accustomed to not being able to hear Ness' thoughts. He could read every single person's mind, but that particular boy was either immune to mind-reading, or that he had no thoughts of his own. Lucas quickly ruled out the second possibility. Nevertheless, it was convenient to have an off-switch for his unruly ability — something to silence the maddening mental noise around him.

He hated to admit it, but he craved Ness' proximity.

With the subtlety of a drunken, three-legged elephant, Lucas went out of his way to be within eyeshot of the dark-haired boy whenever he could. He didn't share a single class with him, but he silently followed Ness around in the hallways, or sat in the bleachers feigning interest in watching chicken-legged jocks scurrying around the baseball field with Ness barking orders at his teammates.

* * *

"Hi, friend," A familiarly obnoxious voice sounded behind him after a long day of baseball practice. Ness winced and mouthed a curse before turning towards his addressor.

"Oh. Hello, Pokey," Ness said, forcing a smile.

"Say, we haven't hung out for a while. Wanna go to Franky at the arcade?"

 _No. Ain't gonna happen, Minch_ , Ness thought. He wondered how persistent his portly neighbor can get.

"Sorry," Ness started, trying to think of an excuse, "But you see, um, I have plans with.."

With who? He was going to say Paula, but she was at her parents' in Twoson for today. He looked around and pointed at the first person his eyes had fallen on.

".. With blondie over there," he pointed his thumb towards a blond kid with a peculiar hairstyle sitting in the bleachers, apparently minding his own business. Pokey unexpectedly blanched at that.

"Th-that guy? Look Ness," Pokey leaned towards him, "That islander is nothin' but bad news. I tell ya, you don't want _anything_ to do with him."

"Don't worry. I'll be fine," Ness said flatly, approaching the blond, who was reading a book. Who read books at a sports field?

"Ah. I remembered something I gotta do," Pokey suddenly said, rushing through his speech, "Later." With that, he barrelled away from sight. Ness shrugged and turned around to face the blond, who was impassively looking up at him. He felt uncomfortable under the piercing, blue-eyed gaze.

"Yo," he greeted, trying to sound casual.

* * *

 _"_ _Wanna go at Franky at the arcade?"_

Ugh. Pokey's thought must have snuck its way into his mind. Lucas tried concentrating harder on the silence of Ness' thoughts as he flipped through the book in his hand before he realized that Minch's voice made its way through his ear, not mind. He looked up to see Pokey talking with Ness. Pokey leaned towards the capped boy and whispered something he couldn't follow.

 _'_ _That Islander is nothin' but bad news. I tell ya, you don't want anything to do with him,'_ He heard Pokey with his mind instead. Ness shrugged and told Pokey that he'd be fine or something. The fat kid excused himself and scuttled away. Ness turned at him. Lucas felt unsure what to say, especially since he had no idea what the other wanted with him.

"Yo," Ness said.

Strike one: Obnoxious greeting. Lucas lowered his eyelids to half-closed and shot the capped boy a bored stare. Ness shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I just wanted to get rid of Pokey. Um, yeah."

Strike two: Ness apparently is a lying son of a bitch. Lucas remained impassive, silently staring the baseball player down.

"Well, so… Nice weather we're having, eh?" He said, rubbing the back of his head, just like Claus did when mom scolded him over spooking the sheep or getting himself dirty.

Strike three. Lucas closed his book and stood up. He eyed the slightly shorter kid before walking away, leaving a floored Ness to gawk at his back with his jaw dropped.

* * *

 _He ignored me! That little shit!_

Ness was fuming. Who does that guy think he is? At least he could've said something. Even a 'fuck off' would have been an okay response, but wordlessly leaving like that was just insulting. Maybe Pokey was right for once and that kid _was_ bad news. He knitted his eyebrows in thought; he'd seen Blondie around a lot, but he was always alone. It seemed that he had no friends at all. Well, if he acted like such an overinflated phallus all the time, then no wonder! Then again, he didn't even know his name let alone his actual personality. Blondie could use a friend after all. Or maybe not. Ness sighed and stepped back into the school building. He was itching to go home and sink his teeth into some steak.

* * *

 **A/N: OK, so.. Exams. Wow. Here's registering for 20 hours this semester coming around to bite me in the arse. XD I had computer architecture/assembly languages and then data transmission exams with only 12 hours time in between, so I'm currently functioning on black coffee and magical unicorn tears. I think I'll just post this chapter _(really short. Sorry)_ now and sleep for the rest of my life. Maybe. :P**

 _ **Reviews:**_

 **Guest: Haha, it's cringeworthy indeed. And yeah, good thing Pokey got what he deserved. Thanks. ^^**

 **Ninten64: Well, I applaud your well-played pun. XD As for Lucas seeing his family again, I doubt he would be able to come back to his home islands anytime soon. If his family's ghosts roamed the ruins of the village, he's none the wiser.**

 **Connor the spelling pro: A pushover, yup. Still obnoxious and easily hateable, though. :/**

 **As for more description equals better atmosphere, I agree, but excessive description would make a story sound like an essay or something. :P I admit, I tend to be very brief with descriptions - If someone told me to describe an apple, I'm more likely to write 'it's red' instead of 'it is rounded, firm-fleshed, sweet-tasting...' and so on.**

 **I actually nicked the parentheses thing from a thriller novel I've read ages ago XD. I've read some horror stories, namely a few Stephen King books. That guy is great with fridge horror instead of the conventional in-your-face scare techniques.**

 **Yeah Lucas has no (human) friends. Boo hoo. :( Oh well, it's likely to change.**

 **I thought the ghost law was silly too, but it's a staple of haunted house stories (namely the Unfinished Business trope) it's true it wasn't their fault they were murdered, but they apparently want to witness their murderer receive his just punishment before resting in the afterlife or something.**

 **Lucas is pure-hearted, so when he's slapped in the face with the fact that people can have malicious thoughts and act upon them, I believe it's a natural response to withdraw and be bitter and/or vindictive towards them.**

 **hellolord307: Thanks a lot, dude/tte. :)**

 **adricarra: Hey. :D**

 **Yeah, poor Tazmily. It's kinda like a Nazi-like army invading a small town in Poland or France.**

 **I figured it would be a funny thing to pick and poke [heh, get it?] at the translation fail. :P**

 **Well, he might find an honest person. The jury's out on Ness, though, since he's a bit of a special case as you can see. XD**

 **Yeah, Pokey needed something like that to leave Lucas alone, no? XD And thanks. I'm happy you like this story. ^^**


	5. Chapter 5 - Endless Hallway

**Chapter 5 - Endless Hallway**

Acrid smoke filled his vision.

He coughed and hacked, the smoke clogged his lungs and burned his throat. Shielding his face with an arm, he slowly walked forward.

 _Where am I?_

The place looked familiar, but he had never seen so much destruction. Not since..

Tazmily.

Lucas doubled over, his vision blurred briefly as a deep sense of terror rolled down his stomach. He remembered what happened, feeling incredibly lost.

 _Mom.. Dad.. Claus.. They are all—_

 _'_ _Dead.'_ a voice completed from behind him. He whipped around to find only rubble. The voice chuckled.

 _'_ _Dead. Flattened like pancakes.'_

His own face appeared from the rubble. Then the head peered through smoldering debris, attached to a wizened sunflower stem half-buried in the destroyed stone. His similar cocked its head to the side, flashing him a malicious toothy grin.

 _'_ _Don't you think it's funny in a way? Everybody died, but you got to live. You don't deserve life and you know that.'_

Lucas' eyes widened. No. He lived through the attack because.. it wasn't his time yet. The face on the withered plant stalk heard his thought and grimaced in disgust.

 _'_ _Don't like to yourself. It wasn't because your time hadn't come. That's a stupid fucking excuse. If it wasn't for Claus pushing you away, you would be just as dead.'_

Lucas couldn't reply to that. He opened his mouth to say something, but pressed it in a grim line. He wasn't sure what to say, after all. A moment later, he heard soft sobs echoing somewhere behind him. When he turned around, he was met with the sight of an angry, tearful Claus.

 _'You left me.'_ he muttered through his anger, face downcast.

Lucas hurried towards his brother and grabbed his shoulders.

"I didn't leave, Claus," he wanted to say, but his voice failed him. His other face laughed in pernicious mirth.

 _'Yes he did, and he would do it again,'_ it said. Lucas glared at it and ran towards the abominable thing. He tore at its base with his hands, frantically digging at the rubble in an attempt to uproot it. He silently screamed when his fingers came back without their flesh, only glistening bone left. His face cackled madly at him.

 _'It is pointless. You can't get rid of me, because I am you and you are me,_ ' it sang out in mockery. Lucas gritted his teeth, and with his bony hands he gripped the plant where the stalk ended with the head. He snapped it in half. He shot the nightmarish face a victorious grin. It only grinned back.

 _'I'd check on Claus if I were you. Then again, I am you,'_ it whispered, before its eyes glassed over. Lucas looked back at his twin.

Claus' form was fading away, his lower half was turning into nothingness.

 _'Lucas,'_ he croaked. Lucas scrambled back at him.

 _'Don't leave me to die!'_ he wailed.

Lucas saw everything move away rapidly. Claus faded into the distance, as the entirety of the islands left his vision.

* * *

Lucas' eyes shot open. He screamed inwardly when he realised he couldn't move his body, feeling an invisible heavy weight crushing his chest. Faint colors danced in his vision and a sharp ringing buzzed in his ear on top of the noise of his heart beating in his throat. Minutes passed, seeming like centuries before he managed to lift himself up and stand on a pair of wobbly legs. He fell back on his bed at first, then got up and trudged towards the bathroom. There, he stared at his hands. They were perfectly unblemished, his pale, slender fingers ended with well-trimmed fingernails.

 _Another nightmare, but it seemed so real_ , he thought as he approached the mirror.

The face he was gazing at in the mirror did not look well; sallow skin stretched taut over visible cheekbones. Piercing, deep-set sapphire eyes gazed back at him, lined by almost-bruised skin in contrast with the rest of his pale face. Even that damned _face_ from his nightmare looked healthier than he did right now. He sighed, leaning his forehead on the icy mirror and watching his breath create a visible patch of fog on its surface.

"Am I going crazy?" he wondered out loud, unsure of the answer.

* * *

Ness was a man on a mission, namely finding out more about Blondie and why was he such an aloof little ponce. He should probably stop calling him 'Blondie' and learn his actual name, one way or another.

 _Why even bother with him? He left me like I was chopped liver_ , a part of his mind protested. A calmer part oh him reasoned back that the blond loner probably wasn't good at dealing with people. He _did_ approach him out of the blue, after all. It was ridiculous, but he was intrigued by that kid, and he wanted to befriend him. He saw blondie everyday in school, always glaring at the world from under furrowed eyebrows. However, Ness could see a glimmer of melancholy in his eyes that shone through when he thought nobody was looking. It was obvious he carried a heavy weight on his shoulders, and Ness wasn't the type to watch people suffer alone.

His thoughts of plans on how to crack the insular blond's shell were soon forgotten the moment he saw a hotdog stand at the sidewalk right next to the department store.

* * *

Lucas disinterestedly browsed through the supermarket for a fresh carton of milk. The shopping list mom gave him this time wasn't too long, but she gave him the credit card and told him to pick up anything he liked as long as it wasn't too expensive. He grabbed a few bottles of water before going to the deli section and got a few sandwiches, then went to the upper floor to place a few clothing items larger than his own size in the cart as well. The lady at the cashier gave an odd look at him, but he shrugged and asked her to kindly put the clothes, water and sandwiches in separate bags from the rest of his grocery, only increasing her bafflement. After paying for everything, he hauled the bags in one hand and stepped out of the department store. His calm face almost broke into a cringe when he saw _him_ at a hotdog stand devouring an unfortunate meal. Their eyes met, and Ness raised an eyebrow at him.

"Ah. Fancy seeing you here," he said. Lucas couldn't help but gawk at the mustard stain that reached from the corner of his mouth halfway across his cheeks.

* * *

 _Oh shit, it's Blondie! Quick, think of something_ , Ness thought as he finished his hotdog when he spied a particular lick of blond hair exiting the department store, clutching some bags in a hand, the other one stuffed in the pocket of his shorts. At least he saw an acknowledging look in the other's eyes when their eyes locked.

"Ah. Fancy seeing you here," he said. Much to his dismay, the blond kid stared back in silence. He was being served the silent treatment again, it seemed. He was going to say something before noticing that the blond's gaze wasn't exactly on his eyes. Why was he staring at his face like that? _Is he looking at my mouth?_ A mortifying thought then crossed his mind.

"Look pal," he began, "I don't swing that way or anyth-"

Blondie brought his free hand up and tapped his own face, "Mustard."

"Huh?" he said dumbly, then it registered. An embarrassed flush crept up his face as he wiped at his cheek with a finger. Damn, that's a lot of mustard. Using the clean part of the wrapper he held his food with, he managed to remove most of the yellow stain off his face. He looked up, only to see the blond walking away. Again.

He could've sworn he saw an amused smirk across the blond's face a moment ago.

 _Goddammit!_

* * *

Well, that was an entertaining spectacle. Ness must be eating like a half-famished hyena for his face to stain with sauce like that. Claus used to have horrible table manners, too. Lucas killed that trail of thought, steadying the bags in his hand and walked across the main street towards the south part of town. That area wasn't the fanciest part of Onett, being inhabited by lower-middle class families at best, and a criminal gang known as The Sharks had made it their 'turf'. Ironically, the Onett Police were headquartered in that very neighborhood, but made no effort to target the rampant crime rates whatsoever. It was around sunset when he reached that part of town. Lucas eyed the streets, looking for a particular person. When he did, he walked up towards the whiskered man sitting by a light post with a beaten up bass guitar and a hat containing a handful of pennies in front of him.

"Spare some change?" the man said quietly, almost automatically when he sensed a passerby. To his surprise, the person sat next to him. His eyebrows rose halfway through his forehead when he saw a familiar kid sitting next to him.

"Mind if I sit here, Duster?" the boy asked, setting down a few bags in front of him. The man looked torn between happiness, surprise and anger at his sight.

"Lucas!" he exclaimed, "What are you doing here, kid?"

"Checking up on you," he replied, not looking him in the eye, "How are you doing? I heard you were running into rough times."

"What? Pff, it's nothin'," Duster said with a wry grin, "I just need to convince that landlady hag to wait for _just_ one more week. I will pay her for her dingy room eventually, I swear."

"How's your leg?" Lucas asked, ignoring what Duster had just said, "Have you been taking your medicine?"

"You're not my mother, Lucas," Duster said, tightening his face into a grim scowl, "I'm a grown man and I can look after myself."

The look Lucas threw him indicated he believed otherwise. Duster winced at the boy's penetrating stare. Wess used to glare him down like that back in Tazmily. He half-expected Lucas to call him a 'moron'.

"Duster, you're the only one I have left from back home. You can't expect me not to worry about you," Lucas said, then directed his eyes into the narrow street, "Aren't you going to find a new job? I don't think you're coming back to Chaos Theater after breaking the owner's teeth."

"Heh," Duster laughed, "That son of a bitch had it coming. He must have thought I was his indentured slave or something to sign such an outrageous contract. I have my dignity, you know."

"But here you are on the streets, begging." Lucas said, humor absent from his voice, "I'd rather steal than beg for money if I were in your shoes."

"Damn, kid," Duster said, pulling a face at his younger companion, "But yeah, I kinda agree with you. Guess I would make a great thief, no?"

"You're a much better bassist, though."

Duster smirked, rubbing his scruffy goatee. They sat in silence for a few moments. Lucas knew what Duster was about to say, so he looked at him expectantly once he hesitantly opened his mouth.

"You know, there's this guy a friend told me about. He goes by the name OJ, and he's starting a new band. Heard he's looking for a bassist, and when my name came up. He said he'd give me a shot."

"Then why don't you take up the offer?" Lucas asked, fully knowing the answer already, but chose to twist it out of Duster, who frowned.

"N-never mind. It's, uh.. it's a long shot. I mean, I gotta go to Fourside and.." he sighed, rubbing his temple, "I guess I'm better off as a street musician or something."

"You can take the bus to Fourside, Duster," Lucas said flatly. Duster glared at him, and gestured to the near-empty hat in front of him.

"Sure, yeah. Once I pay up my rent. Maybe."

"How much is the bus fare to Fourside?"

"The bus companies charge a lot. I won't ask that from you," Duster looked horrified as Lucas dug through his pocket.

"Fifty dollars? Okay," Lucas got out a few bills from his pocket and placed them in Duster's hand, "Get out of this town, Duster."

"I can't take this from you, Lucas," he said defeatedly, trying to give back the money. Lucas shook his head and stood his ground. When he realized the kid won't budge, he sighed.

"Thanks, kid," he said, smiling weakly.

"Don't mention it," Lucas replied back. He rummaged through the plastic bag in front of him and handed Duster a sandwich, "Got you a sub. Extra pepperoni and pickles."

"Holy crap, that's my favorite," Duster exclaimed as he unwrapped the offered sandwich.

* * *

"I should go," Lucas said as he got up, dusting himself off.

"Hm. All right, then."

"Good luck in Fourside. Break a leg, will you?"

"Heh. I have a bad leg already." Duster was silent for a beat, then looked up at the blond teen, "Thank you, Lucas. I really mean it."

"Y-you're welcome," Lucas said, a timid smile on his face. Duster fondly remembered how shy Lucas used to be back in Tazmily. It was refreshing to see the old Lucas shine through his bitter shell, he thought as he watched the blond kid leave.

Lucas rounded a corner, finding his way through the rapidly darkening streets. A screaming cat bolted out of an alley, briefly startling him. He hated this area in the dark. The sooner he left this place, the better. He apprehensively passed by the shabby-looking arcade. He knew this place was a gathering ground for..

A trio of black-clad punks who were leaning against the fence by the arcade approached him, predatory grins on their faces. They were obviously part of the criminal gang that terrorized this area. Lucas would have been cliché and described their grins as 'shark-toothed', but he silenced the thought.

"Oi! You there," the one in the middle called. The other two blocked the way in front of Lucas.

"You're passin' through _our_ street, kid," the one standing behind said. Their leader stood too close to Lucas and extended a palm, his other hand brandished a switchblade.

 _Armed robbery. The Sharks are getting bold_ , Lucas thought.

"I don't have money," Lucas said, trying hard not to make his voice waver. He was being truthful at least, since he did give Duster all of his savings just a moment ago. The gangsters didn't look pleased with his reply.

"Listen up, motherfucker," the switchblade-brandishing bloke sneered, pressing the edge of the blade on Lucas' face, "I'm gonna carve your ugly face like a pumpkin if you don't fork over all the dough on you now."

Lucas stared into the guy's eyes. He could read his thoughts, but this time they seemed more vivid, almost like he could see them. He closed his eyes, and when they shot open, his irises were dilated, his sclerae were almost glowing. Everything slowed down as Lucas' surroundings changed into an endless, dimly-lit hallway with metal doors on each side and a towering ceiling above his head. The muggers were not in sight. He realized he was standing inside the knife-wielding man's mind. Immediate thoughts sprang out from an opened gate behind him.

 _Shit, I need my fix now._

 _This kid seems easy enough, but I need to ruffle him up before he coughs up his money._

 _His eyes are really scary._

Slowly and deliberately, Lucas walked towards the nearest door and opened it, peeking inside.

Flashes of a sickly woman cleaning a tiny, dirty house, then clutching her sore back. Images of a drunkard man spewing oaths and obscenities buzzed by him inside the dark room. Memories of beatings and insults that left an acerbic taste in his mouth. Lucas backed away and closed the door. The next room was dark at first, before white bursts of light appeared to him. With each flash, Lucas saw and _felt_ the memories this time; the first high from a needle, the rush of committing the first crime and running from police, the first night with a girl (or was it a guy? Alcohol had cast a blur on most of it, it seems), sorrow, and very little happiness. Backing away once more, he exited the room. He saw one particular rusty door with latches and chains all over it. It seemed to be the gangster's most repressed thoughts. The ones that he willed himself to forget and not think of them anymore. Lucas approached it and messed with the rusted latches. They didn't seem to budge. He kicked and punched at the door, but it didn't budge. Seething, Lucas rammed his shoulder against it. The noise of his attempts at forcing the door open echoed through the silent hallway. He panted, eyeing the immovable door in front of him. An idea jumped into his mind. Extending his hands, bright hexagons materialized above his palms. He threw the psionic shapes at the door, each explosion leaving large dents in it. Satisfied with his work, Lucas approached the damaged portion of the wall and kicked it in with one swooping motion. He stepped inside the now-open room.

Only to come back running a few seconds later.

He dropped on all-fours, fighting back a violent attack of nausea. A few dry heaves later, he unsteadily rose up to his feet. What he saw inside that room was horrendous. If this.. indescribable filth was the innermost part of his psyche, no wonder why it was locked away, never to be seen.

An evil-smelling smoke seeped out from the room, filling the air, and he soon realized he wasn't the only one shaking. Cracks appeared in the walls, and the high roof above him was about to buckle. This place was going to collapse any time now. Lucas closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he was in front of the muggers again.

Only their leader stared back at him with glassy eyes, a thin stream of drool trickled out of his gaping mouth. The switchblade dropped form his hand, startling the two behind him.

"Billy?" One of them nervously said. The other shook his frozen buddy's shoulder, yet Billy remained quiet as a flea. Lucas smiled at them.

"He's not coming back to this world anytime soon," he said sweetly, "Who wants to be next?"

The two backed away in horror. One of them tripped over a trash can, sending junk everywhere around him.

"Wh-who the hell are you, man?" he yelled in terror, "Y-you're a demon. Yes, you're Satan's incarnate!"

"Don't you see the blood coming from his nose? It's the devil!" The other one shrieked, pointing at Lucas' face.

Blood? Lucas lifted a hand to his upper lip. His fingers came back smeared in fresh blood. He must have exerted too much pressure on his brain so he could destroy Billy's. He watched as they dragged their drooling leader away, screaming at the top of their lungs in panic. He leaned down and picked up the switchblade.

 _Come on, dummy. It ain't expensive, and it can gut a motherfucker._

Apparently, it was a Twoson criminal from Burglin Park who sold them this knife a couple months ago. Tonight was the first time it was used.

How did he know that was beyond him. Perhaps it was another ability of his enigmatic mind. He stuffed the switchblade in his pocket. Suddenly, he felt lightheaded, a wave of weakness gripped him. His vision went dark as he fell to the sidewalk like a plank.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ness silently followed the blond into the shabby part of town. It was weird to stalk someone he barely knew, but the Onett boy was stubborn. He wasn't going to back away before he knew what Blondie was up to. He knew this area like the back of his hand, so he chose to tail the unaware kid from the alleys. He watched the Tazmilite approach a homeless man. Ness made a face when he saw him start a friendly conversation with that man. He heard a 'Lucas, what are you doing here' from the hobo.

So Blondie's name was Lucas? And why was he friends with some bum? He began questioning whether it was a good idea to befriend a kid with such acquaintances, but his curiosity drove him to watch on as Lucas talked with his hobo friend, before handing him a wad of cash. After the two shared a meager meal of hoagies, he stood up and left, leaving behind one of his bags.

 _Lucas is a Good Samaritan, eh?_ Ness thought to himself as he sneaked out of the alley into another one. He accidentally knocked a trashcan with his foot, and a cat bolted out screeching at him. He cursed under his breath when it clawed at him, before running out in front of Lucas. At least it didn't give him away. Cautiously, he followed behind the other boy as he rounded a corner into a narrow street.

 _Bad idea. He's gonna go through the Sharks' turf_ , he thought again as Lucas passed by the rundown arcade. As expected, three gangsters approached the hapless blond. They were going to take his stuff or money, no doubt. Ness saw the one in the middle wave a nasty-looking blade in front of Lucas' face. He was going to step in and help, but the gangster suddenly froze, his eyes fixed in a hypnotized stare to Lucas' eyes. A moment later, the switchblade dropped with an audible _clank_ to the ground. The other ruffians agitatedly tried to get a response from the frozen guy, to no avail. They dragged him off, screaming. Lucas picked the switchblade and placed it in his pocket. A few steps later, he face-planted on the ground.

"What the hell?" Ness said out loud as he darted from the alley towards a spreadeagled Lucas. He knelt beside him, checking him for any injuries. He was relieved when he saw the blond was unscathed, save for the nasty bruise he'll have on his face thanks to his spectacular fall.

"What the hell are you getting yourself into, Ness?" He asked himself as he hauled the out-cold kid on a shoulder, dragging him away.

* * *

 **WELL WELL! I was going to post this sooner, but I never found time to. (Mostly due to procrastination and a heaping helping of exams/projects/other bullcrap)**

 **Reviews:**

 **hellolord307 : Haha yeah. I thought it would be better to keep the whole baseball theme in there, no? :P**

 **Connor the speling pro : I bit off more than I could chew, yeah. :( **

**Horror books based off principles of quantum physics? Well that's.. That's actually pretty interesting! XD As for Lucas' response as being vengeful, I think it could be his reaction to typical cognitive dissonance; like if you might pick up a knife from the kitchen drawer and think, _'I could hack someone to pieces with this'._ You don't (hopefully :P) actually want to cut someone to ribbons with it, but the thought does cross your mind for some weird reason. And Lucas hears your thought, and thinks of you as a psychopath for the rest of his life. :P**

 **I think I need to read up on how to make descriptions seem less tunnel-visioned and more conveying without killing the subject with overly colourful statements on "Character X's lugubrious and despairing gaze into Character Y's doleful, grief-stricken [insert-fancy-eye-color-here] eyes." I think it's somewhat cheesy really, so I need to find the right balance on that. xD**

 **Schools suck with the whole cliques thing, yeah. I wanted Lucas to perceive Ness as a self-absorbed jock, and the block he's got on Ness' thoughts is only making him seem more distant, despite that he's actually a fairly nice kid.**

 **Thank you. :) But I think your stories are _waay_ better and much more fleshed out. There's a ton of imagination in them that I yet have to work on. I'd imagine if I crack open a High Fantasy book, I'm sure I'll find lengthy scenes and dialogues between the characters. Lengthy, but just below 'long-winded'. It's a balance I think you're good at finding, so yeah. And even I don't know how to categorize this damn story. XD I think 'fanficiton' is a label loose enough to fit the deal. :P**

 **adricarra: Thanks. ^^ **

**Yeah, in hindsight, the time skip didn't have a lot of sense in it, but I wanted some time to pass after the whole haunted house thing.**

 **Ness is poorly portrayed in Lucas' mind, so yeah he has to go through more barriers in addition to the standard 'I-don't-like-people' barriers he sets up against everyone else. :P**

 **Guest : Thanks. At least Pokey got the scare of his life and wouldn't come near Lucas for a long while. I guess even animals know not to stick their noses where it hurts. ;)**

 **Thanks again. :D**


	6. Chapter 6 - Tom Garrickson

**Chapter 6 - Tom Garrickson**

 **Fourside, Eagleland**

 **Four Years Ago**

It was a year and a few months since Lucas and his grandfather had settled into a single room in the basement of a towering apartment building in Fourside. They lived close to the industrial port; the stench of sewage, dead fish and spent fuel poisoned the air. The sea and the adjacent river appeared from the street, discolored with pollution and trash.

The sea never smelled bad in Tazmily. There, the crisp breeze carried waves from unadulterated, crystal blue waters that met with the rugged shore. Lucas' lungs were never accustomed to the fetid air of lower Fourside, so his chest always ached with coughs and wheezes. Whenever he took a deep breath, he could hear a scraping noise somewhere deep in his chest.

As for Alec, the pollution dealt a crushing blow to his already sickly body. He would frequently cough blood into his handkerchief, or heave up a disgusting mass of greenish-red, and his ceaseless hacking and coughing kept Lucas up all night. Months later, Lucas woke up one morning to find his grandfather sprawled at the doorstep, a thin line of blood staining his thinning beard.

He didn't last long after that.

When a young nurse approached little Lucas, who was left to his own devices in the waiting room of the Fourside General Hospital, she was wearing a sympathetic look on her face. She sat next to him and offered a large teddy bear. He eyed the brown doll in his lax grip before looking up at her with vacant, yet steady eyes. She put on a sad smile.

"Lucas, dear?" she began, and she relayed the news to the boy. She was thrown off when he hardly reacted, opting for a placid nod and a 'thank you'. The nurse was aware of the fact that Alec was the only family Lucas had, so she wasn't exactly prepared for his non-reaction.

Yet when she left, she didn't notice how he pulled the teddy bear closer, as if using it to shield himself from the world.

* * *

The three-storey building that was called the Easter Orphanage of Lower Fourside' was in a perpetual state of disrepair, and the children lived in near-constant neglect. On his first day there, Lucas found himself sitting in a crowded room full of unruly children. He chose a desk a little bit to the corner in hopes they would leave him in peace. However, a pudgy kid with beady eyes flopped down on the seat next to him.

"Hey," he started, "New kid, right?"

Lucas nodded, uncomfortably pressing his shoulder to the drab green wall. He didn't appreciate the kid's attention.

"Oh? What's your name? Where're you from?" the other boy asked, not noticing Lucas' discomfort.

"I'm Lucas. F-from Tazmily," Lucas said quietly with an accent that could be cut with a knife. The kid flashed him a smile.

"Heh, cool," he snickered, "I'm Trent. Nice to meet ya, island kid."

Lucas nodded, praying for this conversation to end quickly. However, Trent slapped an overly friendly hand on his shoulder, making him wince.

"Look. In here, it's a dog-eat-dog world. I think I like you enough to tell you that. Someone bothers you, come to me," Trent said, patting Lucas' shoulder, "Understand?"

"Uh, yeah," he replied.

"Good. Also, you should know that adults are our _enemies_ ," Trent said, pointing with his thumb to the nun who sat at a desk, reading something to the inattentive children. Lucas' eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Yeah. They don't care much about us, anyway."

Lucas gave a confused look. Trent smirked at him.

"Watch," Trent said, rising up from his seat. He sauntered in front of the nun and stuck his tongue at her, before stepping out from the room. The woman didn't even look up from her book. Lucas was awed at what he perceived as courage on Trent's part. Trent didn't seem to care about the rules, while Lucas was always taught to respect his elders. The nun raised her head a minute later and looked at the class in boredom. She seemed to notice an absentee.

"Where did Trent go?" she said, scowling at Lucas, who pointed at the door. The woman groaned, pressing two fingers to her forehead in exasperation.

"Darn it, not again!" She grumbled. The children snickered at her.

* * *

Lucas' rather shiny image of Trent shattered the second he went out of the door. He spotted Trent bumping into a much smaller boy with swarthy skin and red hair. The redhead cast his head down as Trent shoved him into a corner.

"Watch where you're going, freak," he chided, but the redhead kept silent, gazing into the ground.

"Ay. Look me in the eye when I'm talking to you," Trent bellowed. The redhead reluctantly raised his head to meet Trent's gaze. He had a round face, and thick lashes framed a pair of large, bright green eyes. Despite the apprehension on the boy's features, his gaze was too piercing. Trent grimaced and said something in disgust before landing a backhanded slap on the boy's face.

Lucas recoiled at the blow. His eyes widened as he covered a gasp with his hands. Trent walked away, leaving the smaller kid's head facing to the side, now with a visible red mark adorning his cheek. Lucas' shocked eyes met with the redhead's calm ones. They carried a tinge of sympathy, as if Lucas was the one who had received the abuse.

When Lucas confronted Trent about what happened earlier that morning, Trent had a dark look on his face. He took Lucas to the side.

"Listen," he muttered ominously, placing an arm around Lucas' hunched shoulders, "You _don't_ want to deal with that Garrickson kid."

"Why?"

"Because he's a freak. I mean, have you seen those freaky eyes of his? Even nuns don't like him that much. Some say he's possessed."

"But he is just a little kid," Lucas protested. Trent shot him a lopsided smile.

"Little kid, you say? Garrickson's fifteen," he said casually before walking away, leaving a flabbergasted Lucas.

 _Fifteen?_ Lucas thought incredulously to himself.

* * *

Lucas came to call the small redhead Tom Garrickson. Not just _Tom_ , because it was too short and common to describe him, and they never called people by their last names in Tazmily, so it wasn't just _Garrickson_ either, so the full name _Tom Garrickson_ seemed to fit. From what Lucas gathered, the redhead was known as Tom Garrickson Jr. from Youngtown. He had been in this orphanage since he was an infant. The story goes that neighbors had found him alone in his house, howling at the top of his lungs. His parents had disappeared without a trace. He was taken in multiple times, but every foster family returned him in a matter of days. They all said the same thing, "we cannot take care of this child."

The real reason however, or what was rumored to be real, was that they would find Tom Garrickson outside of his crib, lying on the roof of the house or on top of the fridge. They also said that Tom Garrickson never cried since he was removed from his parents' house. Years would pass, and Tom Garrickson never grew up like a normal child. His build remained tiny and his face remained childish. He was fifteen, yet he didn't seem a day older than eight, and his baggy clothing made him seem smaller as if he were swimming inside his clothes. Ten-year old Lucas looked nearly twice his size. Tom Garrickson was strangely comfortable in his own skin for a social pariah; he always carried a smile on his face, looking at the world with big, inquisitive eyes. While Lucas was indifferent to the world and mostly apathetic, Tom Garrickson was well attuned to his surroundings, and the tiniest thing caught his attention. He wouldn't admit it, but Lucas grew fond of the babyfaced kid. When he heard Tom Garrickson's thoughts, they were reflected in his eyes, without the mask of lies everyone else wore. He had yet to find someone else with Tom Garrickson's sincerity.

It was around that time that Lucas became aware of his own brand of strange powers. At first, he passed off his ability to read thoughts as something everyone could do, but as his 'ability' grew more acute, he was becoming aware of its unique nature. One day, Lucas was able to hear the janitor's sick thoughts as he hid inside cleaning closets in the boys' dorms or showers, watching them change or peeking at them through bathroom stalls. Lucas was left retching when he first heard whatever thoughts that buzzed inside the man's head. When he told on the orphanage's custodian, the nuns were unconvinced at first, but when they caught the janitor in his peeping act, they couldn't deny it. Of course, the man was arrested, and the news went all over Fourside. Lucas had received a few spanks for the unwanted publicity, but he could sense everyone else were grateful. Nevertheless, Lucas turned more distant. The same bleak expression he'd had in his eyes since leaving Tazmily deepened, making them seem older than his years.

' _You should know that adults are our enemies,'_ Trent words rang in his mind. It seemed so true at the time.

On Sundays, the kids would gather to 'pray' as the nuns told them. Lucas didn't understand what prayer was, but he repeated with the cheerlessly droning kids who recited something from a book the nuns liked to read. They told him he had to pray to God, because God loves his children. He didn't know why was he slapped and reprimanded when he told them he was Flint and Hinawa's child.

God loves everyone, but maybe He wasn't looking when the Pigmasks brought down a building on him and his family.

God loves everyone, but apparently he needed to take a closer look before Trent hit Tom Garrickson.

Perhaps God was blind, Lucas reasoned, so he resorted to prayer. He tried putting more spirit into his prayers, but he found prayers were hardly answered despite pouring all his heart into them. God didn't seem to have heard the janitor's horrible thoughts when he was looking at vulnerable children either.

Maybe God was hard of hearing as well.

* * *

He didn't remember much of it, but one afternoon, Sister Helen approached Lucas with a cheerful smile on her face. She instructed him to wear his best clothes the next morning so he could meet his 'new parents' as she put it. He spent hours on end thinking about those parents. Will his new mom look like Hinawa? Or would she look completely different? That night, he fished out an old photo of his mother that Alec had. He fell asleep with his mother's photo held tight in his hands.

The first meeting was underwhelming. However, Lucas was practically a bundle of nerves at first, but meeting his new foster parents was more like an interview, had they not given him a stuffed koala doll and taken him out for a shopping trip afterwards. The couple were from a city called Onett, to the northwest of Fourside. They loved the 'cute' way he pronounced it as "Ohn-nyet", thanks to his island accent, and they insisted on having him call them 'mom and dad' already. Lucas kept comparing them to his own parents. Hinawa had brown, flowing hair and a dazzling smile, but the new "Mom" was a blonde with shoulder-length hair. He couldn't deny she was extremely pretty, though. Flint always wore a cowboy hat, a moustache and he had brownish-red hair, but this new dad was clean-shaven, had black hair buzzed short and was rather barrel-chested. They didn't look an ounce like his original parents, but the social worker lady told him they'll be great for him. She recommended him living in Onett because he needed cleaner air too.

On his last day at the orphanage, Lucas was surprised by a dark hand tapping his shoulder. Turning around, he found Tom Garrickson looking up at him with an unreadable face.

"I know you can read minds," he said tersely. Lucas gaped at him.

"Uh, beg your pardon?" Lucas said after a silent minute. Tom Garrickson tip-toed and grabbed the back of Lucas' neck, jerking him down to meet his eyes.

"I want you to read my mind, Lucas," Tom Garrickson said slowly, his unwavering gaze unnerved Lucas. Those eyes were too bright, and the tan skin around them made them seem brighter, almost luminous. At this short distance, he saw a light blue band around the edge of Tom Garrickson's irises. He saw fleeting memories of a small slate-roofed house, a faceless woman leaning over to kiss him goodnight, and weird places that transitioned rapidly before his eyes. He heard a loud thought, but the words were muddled. A searing pain flared behind his eyes for only a second, then everything stopped. Tom Garrickson let go of his grip on a disquieted Lucas' head..

"What was.. _That_?" Lucas murmured breathlessly. The muted thought that was planted in his head repeated ceaselessly, but he couldn't tell what was the word it carried.

"Consider it a goodbye gift," Tom Garrickson said, giving him a wide smile, "Thank you, Lucas. And Good luck."

"Wait. What was that supposed to mean?"

"You will know later," was his reply, before walking away.

* * *

In the present time, Ness dragged Lucas' limp form towards the park across the street. With a grunt, he hauled the blond off on a park bench. He inspected the unconscious boy, eyeing the frowning expression on Lucas' face.

"Pfft, still grouchy even while passed out," Ness said, bending down to examine the bruise on the blond's forehead, "He'll feel that next morning, though."

As he said that, Lucas' eyelids quivered and then they shot open. Lucas blinked, and when he registered a curious face looming an inch from his, he flinched, lashing out with his arms. Ness felt a fist collide with his temple, making him land on his rear.

"Oww!" He cried out, rubbing his injured head, "What was that for?" Lucas stared at him wide-eyed.

"Your face was too close," he said, "Um, what are you doing here anyway?"

"Yeah, you're welcome," Ness grumbled, standing up and dusting himself off, "I saw you black out in the middle of the street, and what do I get for hauling your sorry ass here? A punch to the damn head! I could've totally left you to be eaten by rats, but noooo I had to shove the Good Guy Stick up my ass and haul your carcass away so muggers don't pick you clean."

Lucas looked around him. He was indeed in a park, not the street he remembers being in. He began to feel his head throbbing painfully.

"I.. I'm really sorry. I wasn't thinking," Lucas grimaced, placing a hand on his head.

"Hey. You okay? I was gonna call an ambulance just a moment ago," Ness said, eyeing him with concern.

"Headache," he muttered. He suddenly looked up, now fully processing what Ness had said, "Wait. You _carried_ me all the way here?"

"Why, yes," Ness said, crossing his arms and fixing him with a smirk, "Carried you bridal style up here from across the street."

Lucas' eyes became big as saucers, his embarrassment turning him scarlet. Ness barked an amused laugh at the blond's mortified expression.

"Kidding, kidding," he snorted, then turned serious, "But in all seriousness. If people act kind to you, at least it's decent to exhibit some reciprocity, man."

"…Reciprocity," Lucas parroted, cocking his head to the side.

"What," Ness said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow, "You think a stupid meathead like me can't do _tough_ words like that, right?" He did an air-quote gesture at 'tough'.

"I don't even know what that word means."

"Right. Foreign kid. My bad."

Lucas felt his splitting headache increase tenfold. He groaned, pressing a finger to each eye socket so his eyes won't shoot out of his head. He abruptly up, briefly starling Ness. He fought the momentary rush of lightheadedness. He _almost_ had the word Tom Garrickson had implanted in his head all those years ago. It was..

"What," Ness questioned.

"Is. Is that a.." Lucas pointed behind Ness and trailed off. He needed Ness to look away just for a second. He couldn't risk a psionic show in front of the nosy kid, "Is that a giant ant?"

"Where?" Ness whirled around. Lucas concentrated on Tom Garrickson's memory. The word was just on the tip of his tongue. When an image of his house came up in his mind, he had a sudden epiphany and the headache cleared up.

"Teleport," Lucas whispered, now realizing the missing word. He instantly disappeared into thin air.

"Um," Ness said, turning around, "There aren't any giant-"

He halted when he saw the space in front of him was vacant of blond weirdos.

"Lucas?" he said weakly, looking around him. Lucas was nowhere to be seen.

' _You were duped, schmuck'_ , A realizing thought echoed through his brain after a moment. Irately, Ness grabbed his hat and threw it to the ground.

"Son of a BITCH!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, stomping his foot.

* * *

 **Okay, so I gotta stop my stupid habit of thinking up the dialogue lines right before I go to bed, because when I wake up I forget almost all of them. :|**

 **As for the choice of 'Garrickson', First I thought of making a funnier figure and name him 'Charles Taupe', but the reference to the Peanuts character was too obvious, so I scrapped the idea and rewrote the chapter using the Garrickson Baby from Mother 1 with the Teleport thingy. I think I've only read one fanfiction to date that actually referred him, so why not? :P**

 **Review Responses:**

 **Connor the speling pro: **

**I imagine Ness' life as being relatively sheltered (at least in comparison to Lucas'), so his tone comes naturally as a dumb jock, yet a nice dumb jock. I can totally relate with intentionally simpleton characters suddenly turning philosophical, but dumbing them down can be easy with a touch of humour or an inherently simpleminded personality. I do think of Ness as being a smarter-than-he-looks kind of guy, though.**

 **Ah. I knew someone would point that out. I tried using less 'he's and 'his's (Haha, can you pluralize a pronoun like that?), but when I ended up with an accidental "Duster thought as Duster watched..." I gave up on adding names because I thought it'd sound like that. At least the next chapter is gonna feature around a female character instead. XD**

 **I'm also not great with transitioning. I tried using less linebreaks this time around, but I hope the paragraphs don't sound _too_ disjointed or spilled all over the place since I'm writing a memory of Lucas', so I didn't plan it on being consistent time-wise. As for describing the thug's memories, the hallway itself is the _hub_ as you put it, but the doors themselves were leading to memories. I'll think of a way to make it seem less confusing in an edit. XD**

 **Huh. Funny that you mention it. A friend of mine recommended the same book a while back. Guess I'll look for it the next time I'm at the bookstore. I like books that touch upon religious fanaticism even in passing because it's a hot issue these days, no? :P**

 **Thanks. ^_^**

 **Guest:**

 **Oh, by all means. I'd like to read how would you put that to use in a story, actually.**

 **Yes! Ness is a right doofus. XD** **Thanks. :)**

 **Guest 2: (Whom I only gonna assume is adricarra): **

**Oh yeah. Nightly nightmares are the worst. I've read up a lot on PTSD patients being driven to suicide or put on medication because of them.**

 **Ness = Horrid table manners. It's as simple as that. :P  
**

 **Duster is alive because he _has_ to. I can't really think of a dead Duster - It's like dividing by zero. **

**Yes, Lucas can now break people's minds (unintentionally). Bad way to go, innit? I don't think Ness would ever admit to stalking Lucas. It just sounds way too creepy if it was understood the wrong way. XD**

 **Thank you :D**


	7. Chapter 7 - A Change in Appearance

**Chapter 7 - A Change in Appearance**

One second ago, Lucas was staring at Ness' back. The next, he was standing in the middle of his room. The displaced air around him created a mild _boom_ noise. The disorientation from the sudden transition and the mental strain brought on an overpowering urge to be sick. Lucas scrambled towards his room's door, but he dropped the bag he was holding and collapsed, vomiting on the floor. His insides painfully coiled on themselves, wringing out their contents in violent heaves. Lucas stood up afterwards, coughing and wiping the tears and the thin trail of saliva from his face. He had to clean up the mess he'd left behind first, then put away the grocery he almost forgot about. It was lucky his foster parents were out of the house to attend some stupid social event of theirs. Otherwise, he would've had a lot of explaining to do.

After mopping the puddle of puke upstairs and placing the last item from the bag inside the fridge, he heard a key turning inside the front door. A moment afterwards, his parents shuffled in. Mom was wearing an overly formal blue dress and dad was in a tux. The couple walked over to the living room, happily exchanging remarks on the party they went to. When he passed by them and gave a lukewarm greeting, their faces comically fell, gaping at him. An awkward silence ensued for a few seconds.

"…What." Lucas said unsurely.

"Oh my goodness, young man!" mom cried out, walking over towards him and lifting his chin with a finger, "What happened to your face?"

 _Yeah, that._ He'd completely forgotten that he hit his head on the pavement when he passed out. Now that she mentioned it, the corner of his forehead was throbbing uncomfortably. He still needed to explain himself, it seems.

"I fell on the way and hit my head," Lucas half-lied, "I'm fine, though."

They apparently bought it, since they immediately kicked into Worried Parents Mode.

"Get that cleaned, boy," dad said, "You probably want to put on an icepack, too."

"Come on, Lukey," mom cooed, "I'll make an ice bag. You go to the bathroom and clean your face, okay?"

He nodded, and stepped towards the bathroom. He pulled a face when he saw his reflection in the mirror. The bruise on his brow ridge was purple with ugly yellow-green splotches surrounding it, and there was a few drops of blood oozing from the middle. Lucky him it was Friday, so he wouldn't have to show up to school looking this banged up. As he tended to the injury, he thought of the reason why Ness actually bothered to drag him across the street, even though they barely knew each other, knowing Lucas had been indifferent to Ness most of the time. He probably owed the baseball captain an apology for disappearing like that. That is, if Ness didn't decide to punch the bejeezus out of him the next time they saw each other. At least Lucas admitted he deserves it — He had no explainable reason for being cold towards Ness.

When he came out, mom was waiting with a plastic bag filled with ice cubes. She applied it to his injury, gently brushing away the hair that fell on his forehead. He hissed briefly at the icy contact.

"You should get a haircut soon, Lucas," she said, smiling empathetically at him. He nodded in agreement, silently thanking his lucky stars he couldn't read her thoughts for now; he needed to feel like she was a mother for once.

That night, he went early to bed. His throat was parched and his muscles ached. One minute he'd feel freezing cold, the minute next he felt he was being cooked alive. Through his thrashing, feverish images of Ness popped through his mind, replaced with images of Claus.

Ness.. Then Claus..

Ness picking sunflowers with him and their mother.

Claus pitching a third strike.

Ness snoring soundly in Alec's shack.

Claus walking down the hallway with a girl in a pink dress next to him.

Claus flashing him a giddy smile.

Claus bickering with him over who cheated in rock-paper-scissors.

Claus pushing him away from the collapsing wall.

 _'_ _Don't leave me to die!',_ Claus' anguished face from his nightmare cried out.

Lucas didn't know when exhaustion eventually claimed him.

* * *

Lucas felt a lot better when he woke up. In fact, he felt completely refreshed despite overexerting his brain, fainting, hitting his head and vomiting the day before. When he looked at the wall clock, its arms pointed at exactly three o'clock.

 _I slept for this long?_ Lucas thought as he pulled up his window blinds. He squinted when the afternoon light assaulted his still-sensitive eyes. He let out a huge yawn, wondering how his parents left him to sleep in so late. A quick glance at the front lawn indicated the car was absent. He had the house for himself today. Whoopee.

He realized he should take a shower, since he smelled unsavory from lengthy sleep and not showering for two days straight. He grabbed a fresh change of clothes from his closet and went into the bathroom. His jaw dropped in shock when he saw the bruise on his forehead.

Or more like, where it _used_ to be.

There was nothing. Absolutely nothing there save for smooth, unmarred skin. Lucas let out a curse. He had to hide that from his parents with something, but first he had to take his shower and pay a visit to the barber's. His hair looked like a bowl of spaghetti on top of his head. A brief shower later, he got dressed and phoned his parents, telling them he was going to the mall. He grabbed his wallet and left for the barber shop. He had a few ideas in mind, and he was going to follow through with them. At the barber's, he had his hair cut into a different style and dyed it red. After he left the barber's he went to a clothing shop in the mall across the street and got out with a teal and yellow rugby shirt. On the way out of the mall, he spotted a young man in an open trench coat passing by the burly mall officer with a conceited strut. He had particularly worrying thoughts springing out of his head.

 _Good. Good. I passed the entrance with the gun — It's uncomfortable and cold against my ass, but I got through. I just want to take a few pieces of shit down with me... Just think though, I'm gonna be fucking famous!_

At that, Lucas hurried to the unconcerned security guard and tugged on his sleeve.

"Officer, sir?" Lucas said, putting a panicked look on his face, "There's a _gun_ with that man." He pointed towards the coat-wearing fellow. The cop furrowed his eyebrows, alerted by Lucas' apparent fear.

"Who? Where?" he said. His gaze travelled to the shady man Lucas pointed out, "That guy?"

"Yes sir," Lucas nodded, "I saw him hide it, uh, inside his pants."

"That's serious, but it wouldn't hurt to check. Stay here, boy," The guard said, walking towards the man, "Excuse me? Sir. In trenches," he called out. The guy froze in his place and jerkily turned around. He flashed the guard a wide smile.

"Officer. Can I help you?" he said.

 _'_ _Dammit. I'm sure he didn't even look up when I walked in!'_ Lucas could hear the man protest mentally. The mall officer asked politely to search the man, calling it 'standard procedure'. Trenchie seemed intimidated by the huge guard, who easily stood at six feet and a half tall.

"Oh. Of.. Of course," the man said, extending his arms.

' _I gotta make a run for it now.'_

"Uh, just let me scratch this itch firs-" the man said, reaching a hand to his back behind his coat. The officer's hand was faster, whipping down a baton across the man's face. He collapsed like a sack of potatoes to the floor. A handgun dropped from his coat, much to the horror of onlooking shoppers.

"I don't get paid enough for this crap," the officer muttered, picking up the gun and pulling out a walkie-talkie radio from his hip. He said something into the radio, before turning to Lucas.

"How'd you see that coming, boy?" he asked. Lucas gave him a sweet smile.

"Oh nothing, sir. He looked so full of himself and obvious," he said, his smile widening, "I almost read it in his mind."

* * *

Back home, Lucas was still reeling from what happened back at the mall. He couldn't believe he had just prevented an ugly mass murder from happening. A few minutes after he'd gotten in, he heard his mom's car skidding to a stop outside. He heard frantic footsteps approaching the front door, before his mom barged in, a worried look on her face. When she spotted him, she visibly relaxed.

"Lucas! Thank God you're alright," his mom cried out, "I heard an armed man was arrested in the mall. Were you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," Lucas replied, "Where's dad?"

"He's caught in traffic. Should be back soon. Why didn't you answer our calls?"

"You called? Guess my phone's battery was dead."

"That is not an excuse, young man-" she trailed off, noticing the change in Lucas' hair, "What the heck did you do to your hair?"

"Dyed it," he stated the obvious.

"I… I don't know. Why red?" she asked.

"Thought it looked good this way. You should do it too. You could dye your hair brown, _mom_."

"Brown?" she said, his pointed pronunciation of 'mom' went over her head, "But I like my hair the way it is." she paused, eyeing the kitchen behind him before a thoroughly annoyed expression drew over her face, "Ugh, who left the dishes in the sink? I swear I'm living with a pair of pigs!"

He shrugged and sat down on the couch, hearing her go on a tirade over men's filthy habits. It seemed her concern over the shooting and his new hair look took her attention off the vanished bruise on his face. After a few moments of contemplation, Lucas grabbed his bag and trotted upstairs. He changed into his new shirt and put on a pair of cargo pants. He could ignore that the shirt was full-sleeved, not a t-shirt like the one from his memories. He stepped into his parents' room and stood in front of the full-body mirror.

 _I should stop making a habit of staring at mirrors,_ he thought. His breath caught when he saw his twin brother staring shyly back at him. Claus never looked shyly at people, so Lucas screwed his face up into a confident grin, or what he thought a confident grin would look like.

"Hey bro," he tried to say in a cool tone like how Claus would talk to him, but his voice cracked halfway through. He choked back a sob and closed the distance between him and the mirror, leaning his head against the reflection. He stayed like that for a few minutes.

"I miss you so much, Claus," he whispered.

* * *

"A field trip to Fourside!"

Lucas inwardly groaned and slapped a hand to his face as the teacher announced, happily handing out forms to the kids. He hated it already! Lucas flipped through the papers the teacher handed him. They read the trip would be two days long over the weekend, starting on Friday. Students would be grouped into clusters of eight and stay in pairs in one of Fourside's prominent hotels. The second paper was just plain consent forms addressed to parents concerning medication and some FAQs about accommodation, luggage and what not.

"We will be going to visit museums, the Monotoli Towers and tour the Senate," the teacher chirped, apparently more stoked about the field trip than the kids themselves. Lucas was the only one who seemed lukewarm about the trip. A hand daintily tapped his shoulder. He turned around to face the girl who usually sat behind him. Her name was Paula Polestar, a sweet girl from Twoson. Too bad she was dating Ness, though. She still hadn't grown out of wearing pink dresses and hair bows, so he secretly questioned Ness' taste. Lucas looked up to her in a way, since she was one of the rare people who weren't overweening dirtbags, but a genuinely good person inside and out.

"Are you going too?" she asked.

"Don't know. Maybe not," he grumbled. He disliked the very idea of going back to Fourside. He didn't like that city one bit.

"You could use a visit to Fourside, Lucas," she said, "It's the biggest city in the country. There are lots of things to do there."

"Been there, done that."

"I bet you've never seen the _good_ part of Fourside. Trust me, you need this," she said. He looked into her eyes. Her thoughts matched what she said, however.

"Bleh," Lucas stuck out his tongue as he stuffed the forms in his bag, much to Paula's giggling amusement.

* * *

"Oh. You are _definitely_ going!" his parents cried out in unison. Lucas cringed at that, cursing himself for showing his parents the paper in the first place.

"Why?" he asked. His foster parents shot him an incredulous look.

" _Why?"_ mom repeated, "Honey, you should learn to have some fun instead of being cooped up in your room."

"Back in my day we could only _dream_ of school trips to the Big City," dad said, nodding his head sagely.

He could hear his mom think as she leered lecherously at her husband, ' _And it's a good excuse as any to get the brat out of the house for a few days. I wonder how it'd be like if we did_ ** _it_** _on the kitchen counter or—'_

"Okay, okay, okay," he yelled to silence her thoughts, "I'll go, I'll go! Just.. sign those papers here or whatever."

They gave him a disapproving look.

"Please," he snappily added, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

Throughout the entire week, he never dared to step a foot inside the kitchen.

* * *

The next Thursday, Lucas approached the gathering crowd of students in the hallway. The staff seemed to have put up a table showing who's rooming with whom during the Fourside trip instead of telling each class individually. Wading through the crowd of kids, Lucas scanned over the large poster for his name, but couldn't find it amidst the hubbub and shuffling kids. He overheard a pair of jocks pointing at the poster and laughing to themselves.

"Check out who's the captain is stuck with," one of them said, nudging his pal.

"Ho-ho, no freaking way. _That_ weirdo?"

"Pff, yeah. In the flesh."

Lucas ignored the two, still searching for his own name. It seemed that the school arranged the students so that each eight students would be under the supervision of one teacher, and each two will stay in one room. He found his name under the supervision of Mr. Pirkle. His group included male students whose names began with an L,M,N,O or P, and he would stay with…

He realized who the jocks were laughing at when he saw that he would be rooming with Ness. Lucas pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. Goddammit! It was so _expected_ that he would be paired with the person he wanted to spend time with the least, counting out Pokey. He saw someone stand next to him with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"'Sup," Ness said in an even voice, facing Lucas but not taking his eye off the poster, "Guess we're stuck with each other this time, huh?"

 _Kill me now,_ Lucas thought to himself. It was obvious Ness hated his guts already, for which Lucas could not blame him.

"Uh, I… I'm.. er," Lucas stammered, unsure of what to say.

"S'cool man," Ness said, "I just hope you don't run away just because I'm there, too."

Ness gave Lucas a pointed look and walked away, leaving the blond confused. Ness didn't bother questioning him about whatever happened at the park last Friday either, further adding to his confusion.

Upstairs, Lucas found his supervising teacher sitting under the freezing air conditioner and sweating profusely despite the chilly weather outside. He told the teacher through chattering teeth he wished to change roommates.

"The only one with a roommate willing to switch places is Pokey Minch," Mr. Pirkle said, wiping his shiny bald head with a handkerchief. Lucas' eyes widened.

"Mr. Pirkle, are you sure?" Lucas said, "I mean, we're twenty-eight rooms—"

"..Of which four lie under my direct responsibility," Pirkle interrupted, "You belong under my cluster, Lucas."

"Can't I just change teachers?" Lucas said, then immediately realizing his tastelessness evident from Mr. Pirkle's scowl, deepening the ridges that made his double chin, "I mean, uh.."

"No, you may not," the teacher asserted, waving his hand breezily, "Run along, boy."

Lucas grumbled to himself as he left the teacher's frigid office. At the courtyard, He saw Ness walking up towards Paula and taking her hand as they walked outside of school.

"Just my luck," he muttered.

* * *

 **AN: Okay, this is the first part of a stupidly long chapter I wrote yesterday (roughly 7000 words), so I decided to split it into bite-sized pieces to fit with the size range of this fic. The next parts should be up soon. Possibly in a few days.**

 **Review Responses:**

 ** _Guest:_ **

**Haha, yeah Ness got fooled quite easily, but I think anyone would've fallen for it. I'll be waiting to see your stories, mate. :D**

 _ **Connor the speling pro:**_

 **I smell sarcasm. :P The smarter-than-he-looks in Ness was probably sleeping when he fell for the ant trick, but imagine a recently-injured kid springing up and pointing behind you. You ought to at least look briefly, no? XD**

 **I'm trying to find a good balance between choppy writing and boring readers with unnecessary details in between scenes. Perhaps this chapter is leaning towards being choppier. You're right though, too choppy would sound like I'm writing aimlessly without extending and fleshing out the ideas that come into mind.**

 **Fixed that. Kinda. At least I changed it so it explicitly says it's the present time again. As for Trent, yeah kids are really cruel when they want to, but only to people they dislike for no reason. Lucas' ability to see both sides of people coupled with his acquired pessimism would make the bad side of people overshadow the good one. Maybe with few exceptions (i.e. Tom Garrickson, Paula..)**

 **Maybe almost all kids had those thoughts spring up in their heads, but they would trust authority that their thoughts are false. Makes me question the long-standing claim that faith in god comes naturally to humans. And yes, I'm pretty sure I have first-hand experience of how obnoxious overconfident religious** **nutjobs are. Not a pleasant thing at all. ._.**

 **Haha I can relate. English has a lot of weird vocabulary that escape me. I thought reciprocity means 'upside down' since a reciprocal/inverse of x in math is 1/x. Same thing for 'bemused' (baffled) and 'amused' (entertained). Ain't etymology fun? XD**

 **Yup. Ness and Lucas are pretty rocky now. Ness is stubborn, but even someone like him can eventually question his effort or run out of steam enough to leave Lucas alone altogether.**

 _ **adricarra:**_

 **Ah, Internet Woes. I can totally relate to how insufferable bad connections are. :/**

 **Yeah, Lucas' days in Fourside were practically his formative years condensed into a few months' stay there. It kinda made him grow too fast for his age. You can see how much he dislikes Fourside because of that.**

 **Haha, Tom Garrickson is too babyfaced. I think it's a thing a lot of people go through - I get constantly ID'd at stores it's not funny, really. XD**

 **Ness got the short end of the stick, indeed. And yeah that insult was tactless on Ness' part, but I seriously doubt he was thinking much of tact when Lucas vanished on him like that. :P**

 _ **Ninten64:**_

 **Thank you. :) Well.. Now you know where Lucas had gone. XD I think I kinda made it obvious last chapter when Lucas imagined his house before he disappeared, but yeah 'his house' could've meant any house he stayed in through his life.**


	8. Chapter 8 - Drago Whisperer

**Well well.. I think it's about time I switched the Author's Note to the beginning just like every other sane author on this website. XD**

 **This chapter might be the last one I could post for a while before I go ear-deep with exams and design projects again over the next few weeks. :L**

 **Review Responses:**

 _ **crazy dragon ninja:**_

 **Thank you very much. ^^ I agree, Not-wimpy Lucas is best Lucas (The wimpy stereotype is mostly from his depiction in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, sadly). Thanks again. :D**

 _ **Guest:**_

 **Yup, Lucas is still a carrot-top. Yeah, kids can be cruel to people with differences, so it's natural, I guess? XD Thanks, and yeah this fic is practically Lucas-centric, so.. Yup. :P**

 _ **hellolord307:**_

 **Mm.. Luke has really bad luck, indeed. :/**

* * *

 **Chapter 8 - Drago Whisperer**

Lucas showed up early to school the next day as asked in the schedule. He spotted a crowd of students gathering outside the school, waiting for the school to open. The majority of the kids complained they had to show up early for nothing, missing much-needed sleep. Lucas saw Ness and Paula by the street corner chatting excitedly about the trip. He walked by the two, hoping he would pass unnoticed. Paula looked up and waved at him.

"Morning, Lucas," she chirped. He cringed before turning around and flashing them a nervous smile.

"Good morning," he said stiffly, eyeing the two. Paula seemed too lively at this ungodly hour, while Ness was.. Ness.

"I like your hair," Paula noted, looking at the top of Lucas' head, "Red hair suits you well somehow."

"Oh, um. Thanks," he said.

Ness' gaze remained neutral. Lucas realized he missed his mind-reading ability when it came to that cap-wearing kid sometimes. They heard the school gate open, and the kids poured inside the courtyard. Lucas followed inside, tailed by the other two. A teacher's voice blared over a speakerphone, telling each student to stand with members of his or her cluster in front of their teacher. Ness said a quick "see you" to Paula, before following Lucas towards Mr. Pirkle, who stood near a tourist bus that dwarfed the usual school buses.

It turned out that the roommates also had to sit next to each other during the six-hour bus ride. Ness, along with the rest of the boys, lamented the fact that the girls will travel in a separate bus, meeting in Fourside. Lucas and Ness kept their conversation to a minimum, only briefly deciding upon who would sit at the window seat, on which they agreed that it would be Lucas, since he was less likely to get out for much of the ride. The awkward air between them was fairly palpable, but Ness chose to ignore Lucas and chat with some oriental-looking kid with a shaved head who sat in the row behind them.

Much to Lucas' dismay, Pokey sat right behind him on the window seat too. It seemed he got over the scare from the McKinley's house last year. Pokey hogged the window to himself, forcing Lucas' window shut. Lucas patiently and silently braved through Pokey's petty pinches, kicks and hair-pulling, but when a wet, rolled length of tissue was poked inside his ear, he flinched, his hand accidentally knocking Ness' hat off of his head. Ness angrily picked up his hat from the floor and shot an irritated look towards a horrified Lucas, but immediately rolled his eyes in exasperation when he saw Pokey behind them laughing heartily, his body vibrating with his cackles.

Halfway through the Dusty Dunes Desert, the bus stopped at a gas station to refuel. Ness sprang out of his seat, saying he wanted to grab something to drink. Lucas wanted a bottle of water, but he didn't dare ask Ness to bring him one, so he got up and stepped out of the bus as well. He quickly swiped a chilled bottle of water and payed up for it at the cashier, passing by Ness who hauled in an armful of snacks and drinks. When Lucas approached his seat, he saw Pokey with an overly pleased expression on his face. Lucas halted in the middle of the narrow aisle.

"What are you waiting for, Gingersnaps?" Pokey said sweetly, "Why don't you siddown?" His thoughts were a lengthy stream of ' _Heh-heh-heh-heh'._

With a quick glance at his seat, Lucas saw a puddle of _something_ in the center of his seat. Lucas groaned in disgust at the sight. No way he was going to sit on whatever Pokey decided to smear the seat with. A moment later, Ness climbed into the bus with two plastic bags filled to the brim with snacks. He gave Lucas a quizzical look, to which Lucas replied with pointing his finger at the seat.

"Um," Lucas said with a bashful blush, "Can.. Can I borrow a tissue?"

"Looks like I'm here for the rescue again," Ness smirked, fishing out a pack of tissues from his pocket, "Just don't punch me and run away this time, will ya?"

"Erm, thank you," Lucas' blush darkened. He didn't need Ness' passive-aggressive attitude right now. He unfolded the tissue and wiped away the gel-like mess. He was lucky the bus was fitted with faux-leather seats and not the usual felt, so the slimy stain came away quickly with one swipe of the napkin. Lucas disposed of it in a small slot in the back of the seat in front of him, then took his seat. He propped up his head against the window and tried to sleep. At least Pokey ignored him for the rest of the ride, opting for harassing Ness into handing over some snacks.

* * *

Paula was unbelievably right when she said he yet had to see the 'good' part of Fourside. The distant towers appeared larger as the bus sped down the suspension bridge that linked Fourside to the mainland. Lucas had seen the skyline in some movies before, but to him it appeared bigger and almost overwhelming in real life.

"My cousin thinks he's a big shot because he runs Onett. Wait until he sees this," He heard Mr. Pirkle say. Lucas wondered what Mr. Pirkle's idea of the city would be like if the teacher had to stay in Lower Fourside for a few days. Fortunately, they weren't going anywhere near that part of town. The bus came to a stop in front of the Dinosaur Museum and Zoo in the center of the city, since this was still a field trip and they had to 'learn' about stuff.

The male students filed noisily out of the bus towards the entrance of the gargantuan building, joining the girls who had arrived moments before they did. The museum consisted of two storeys, yet it was towering and extremely wide, occupying a whole block by itself. A tour guide lady welcomed them to the Fourside Museum and Zoo of Jurassic Life Forms, as it was formally known. Lucas' idea of zoos that they were large open parks with various animals locked miserably inside wire cages, but this place was a colossal cube of concrete with no open spaces in sight save for a big glass dome in the middle. The tour began with a brief explanation of life during the dinosaurs' era, progressing from the earliest forms towards the more 'modern' specimens. A sad-looking researcher took over and introduced himself as Mr. Spoon, currently conducting his doctorate thesis on _Tyrannosaurus nowherii_ , known as the Drago, the only remaining extant species of dinosaurs native to their eponymous plateau on Nowhere Islands. At that, Lucas immediately gave his undivided attention to the man, ignoring the few curious peeks the students (and few teachers) snuck at him. He remembered playing with Dragos near his grandfather's house or up in the Drago Plateau. The researcher said there were few members of the species left in the wild due to the pigmask army driving them halfway to extinction, and the museum was coordinating a 'preservation' project with several prominent universities for the critically endangered species, but he complained about the public disinterest in the museum, people rarely visited and the museum barely operated in the black.

An exhibit showed a Pigmask-altered drago corpse with much of its face and body replaced by mechanical parts. Mr. Spoon explained that the alterations were done while the animal was live and awake. Lucas and the students shuddered, imagining the excruciating agony the drago must have gone through to have its jaw sheared away and replaced with a mechanical contraption like that. By then, Ness had found Paula and they stuck together for most of the tour, for which Lucas was half-glad — He would get rid of the awkward air around Ness but lose his mind-reading mute switch. He saw the two sneak away and take an elevator upstairs where it read 'Observatory'. He questioned the wisdom of leaving the tour group, but he chose to ignore them. It was none of his business after all.

"And here, we have our central exhibit," Mr. Spoon said, leading them through a large archway.

When Mr. Spoon ushered them into the next room, Lucas froze in his place in awe. Under the expansive dome, separated from the group by thick panes of bulletproof glass, he saw the very same family of dragos he and Claus used to play with back in Tazmily. He recognized the baby drago, now considerably bigger. It was basking in the sunlight that filtered through the dome a few paces away from its parent. Lucas noted the absence of the other parent. He noticed an elevated platform above the dragos where the observatory was located. He saw Ness and Paula stand there, with Paula leaning in to snap a better shot with her camera. Lucas didn't want to see the dragos from behind a thick barrier either, so he silently broke away from the group and walked up to the observatory elevator.

As he stepped out of the elevator, he noticed Ness and Paula leaning against each other's shoulder on the tall railing, checking out the island dinosaurs. Paula leaned a little further, holding her pink camera with both hands.

"Hey, Paula," Ness said, nudging her and pointed at something, "Who's that—"

He was interrupted by the sound of the railing snapping in half right where they were leaning. Lucas watched in horror as the two disappeared with a scream and fall down inside the drago enclosure. Lucas hurried to the edge and looked down, where he saw them painfully hit the ground behind the baby drago with a ring of railing debris around them. He saw the onlooking students and museum staff scream and point in alarm when they saw Ness and Paula land from the observatory. The juvenile drago was spooked, hurrying towards its mother, who looked ready to clamp its powerful jaws on their necks any moment now. Dragos were almost always docile, but Lucas knew how overprotective dragos were of their young, so he realized their lives were in danger. He looked at Ness, who rose up on wobbly feet in front of Paula, wearing an uncharacteristically terrified and helpless expression on his face for a moment before furrowing his eyebrows in determination. He extended his arms as an attempt to block the 15-feet tall creature from reaching Paula. Lucas gazed back to the approaching dinosaur. Lucas remembered that Claus used to calm down and direct the dragos with a certain loud whistle. He took a deep breath and jumped down. He brought his thumb and index in a ring past his lips.

 _'Fweeeeeeeeeeeep'_ , he let out a sharp whistle once he landed next to a distraught Paula. The large drago stopped in its tracks, eyeing Lucas curiously, its head cocked to the side. A beat later, the kid drago poked its head from behind its parent's towering foot. When it saw Lucas, its apprehension was gone as it happily screeched and scampered towards the familiar boy. The onlooking crowd screamed when the drago tackled Lucas to the ground, only to be profoundly baffled when they saw Lucas sitting up with the 300-pound baby wrapped in his arms.

Lucas heard happiness and recognition in the dragos' emotions, despite them mistaking him for Claus thanks to his hair look. The parent drago drooped down to nudge Lucas and the baby on the flat top of its massive head, balancing them with a clumsy maneuver. It still eyed Paula's frozen form with caution. Lucas gently stroked its hide.

"It's alright. They're friends," he said soothingly, sensing its emotions slowly shift from acquired apprehension towards its usual acceptance. Lucas noticed painful-looking pits in the drago's thick hide that he recognized as marks left behind by tranquillizer darts. He silently wished it wasn't the museum that did this to them, because those darts must have been at least two feet long in order to pierce skin this thick and immobilize something as big as a full-grown drago.

"Where's your daddy?" He asked, hopping down and pointing at the juvenile drago. It looked visibly sad, and Lucas saw vivid flashes of Pigmasks shooting down a light-green drago and restrain it on a pod of some sort. Lucas saw through the baby drago how the pigmasks hacked away at the drago, replacing its face with pointless machinery, only for the mangled animal to lash out and run away, killing its tormentors in its wake. Dragos were gentle creatures acutely sensitive to stress; the father drago died in pain that day, shedding a last tear once it saw its child. Lucas was pained at how vivid was the young drago's recollection of the tragedy. Loss, confusion and grief filled it whenever it remembered its dead parent.

Lucas felt his disdain for the Pigmasks deepen infinitely. Not only they killed his family, but they also tormented this drago for the rest of its life. They both had suffered loss, therefore he could relate to the grief the youngling felt. He wasn't sure if it was aware of the fact that its parent's remains are mounted like a statue within this building. He ground down the thoughts, flashing the drago a genuinely happy grin as it play-tackled him again.

Paula sat up, wincing slightly from moving her shoulder. She watched Lucas interact with the dragos with wide eyes. She had never seen Lucas look this happy before.

 _He looks like an actual kid for once_ , she thought, smiling to herself.

As for Ness, he dropped his arms and stood rigidly in his place, looking on with amazement at Lucas. He bent down and picked up a piece of the broken railing, inspecting it closely. He stuffed the piece in his pocket.

* * *

Lucas had to leave the dragos. He stood at a distance, leaving them to their own devices before walking towards Ness and Paula. He awkwardly shuffled his feet when they stared blankly at him.

"Um.. Are you alright, guys?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Paula replied, standing up and dusting herself off.

"How come you're friends with those things?" Ness demanded.

"They're not _things_ ," Lucas protested, "They're called dragos."

"Okay then, how come you're friends with dragons?"

"Dragos," Lucas corrected, "Long story. I promise I'll tell you about it later. Let's just get out of here."

The three of them found a small fire exit at the corner of the wall behind them. When they climbed back up to the main floor, they saw a large gathering of people standing in front of a thrilled Mr. Spoon.

"The dragos were treating that boy like he's one of their own," Mr. Spoon waved excitedly in front of the throng of scientists, students and security guards that gathered to watch Lucas, "Who would've thought such creatures exhibited such ability to bond with _humans_ of all species!"

There were a lot of 'ooh's and 'aah's when the mob spotted the trio, and soon, Lucas, Paula and Ness were smothered by the curious gathering.

"How'd you do it, kid?"

"Is the girl all right?"

"Boy, can you tell me what did you do?" Mr. Spoon asked, latching on Lucas.

"Uh, look," Lucas began, raking his brain for an excuse to run away, ".. Can't you see my friends here are injured? Please make way. Make way please," he said, shoving aside people.

"Get on with it, already," he whispered, nudging Paula's elbow. She swooned melodramatically, clutching her shoulder in mock agony while Ness started limping, accentuating each step with an 'Ow'. The crowd parted instantly, some pulling out their phones to call 911 or offering first aid. The three of them rounded the corner of the hallway that led to either the observatory or towards the exit. Once the crowd disappeared from their sight, they paused for a moment and looked at each other, before Paula bursted laughing.

"I can't believe that worked!" Paula said through her giggles. Lucas flashed her an amused smirk.

"Yeah, people can be well-meaning, but easily fooled," he said knowingly, giving Ness a look. Ness rolled his eyes, mirroring Lucas' smirk. He gazed into Lucas' eyes, the playful smirk replaced with a serious face.

"I don't know how you pulled that off," Ness said, "but thank you. I mean it."

"Huh? Oh. Um, you're welcome?" Lucas stammered, a self-conscious flush tinting his face. The crowd of people eventually caught up to them, and Lucas resigned himself to answering the barrage of questions they definitely had.

* * *

Weary and exhausted, Lucas flopped face-first on his bed in the fancy hotel in Downtown Fourside. It was 10 pm, and it had been an extremely long day. After the museum, the students spent the rest of the day touring some of the city landmarks, visiting the iconic city hall and the countrywide-famous Fourside Mall. News of Lucas' feat had spread all over Fourside; headlines revolving around 'Boy saves classmates from museum drago' flashed all over the place, with footage of him during the encounter with the dragos being passed around like fresh cookies. The mall visit was nightmarish, a crowd of people pounced on him, demanding they take pictures with him. Ness and Paula were gracious enough to stick around Lucas during the ordeal, for which Lucas was extremely grateful; he would have gone insane and killed someone with his mind if he had to face all that attention alone. The media chose to dub Lucas the 'Drago Whisperer'. That moniker alone left him seething.

Lucas' phone rang, snapping him out of his brooding. He picked it up and glanced at the unfamiliar number. He wasn't sure whether to pick up or not, but he took the call and placed the phone to his ear.

"Hello-"

" _What the hell were you thinking, kid!_ " a voice screamed at him, making him wince and distance the phone away from his ear.

"Who is this?" Lucas demanded, then remembered the voice owner, albeit never imagining him sounding this livid, "Wait. Duster?"

"Yeah. Who else, kiddo?" Duster's voice sounded from the speaker.

"How'd you get my number?" Lucas eyed the bathroom door, hoping Ness wouldn't emerge from his shower yet.

"I have my deft ways, Lucas. Now tell me, what are you doing here and the hell were you thinking when you pulled that stunt back at the museum?"

".. I'm on a school trip," Lucas fumbled, "And.. I don't know! I just saw the dragos and then Ness and Paula fell inside the nest and I had to do something or they would've been hurt," Lucas whined in a single breath. Duster chuckled at the flustered reply.

"You know, it was a damn brave thing you did back there. Brave but dangerous."

"Uh, thanks?"

"Hm. Also," Duster's voice faltered, "Maybe it's not my place to say, but you aren't doing yourself any favors with that hair, kid."

The line was deathly silent for a minute.

"Duster," Lucas calmly said in a grim tone, "That is none of your business."

"Well.. Thought you'd say that. Anyway, since you're in town, why don't ya drop by to see me at the Topolla Theater. I never got a proper chance to say thank you: I got in with the band, and we are riling up a storm around here."

Lucas' face broke into a broad smile, "Really? That's great news, Duster. Congratulations."

"Thanks. Yeah, you should totally see Desperado Crash Mambo Combo in their natural habitat," Duster joked.

"Desperado-huh?" Lucas asked, confused.

"It's our band name. Just DCMC for short."

"Uh-huh."

"Come by at five tomorrow. That okay with you?"

"Yeah. Absolutely."

"Good. Take care, kid."

"I will. You too, Duster. Bye."

Lucas hung up. He felt happy that Duster was now up on his feet and performing with a band. He will take the time to drop by the Topolla Theater. He memorized the name for a visit tomorrow.

 _'You're not doing yourself any favors with that hair.'_

Lucas' mood dampened. Since when did Duster stick his big nose into what he chose to do with himself? He wouldn't let Claus fade away from his memory.

 _'Don't leave me to die!'_ A familiar nightmare flashed by his mind, causing his chest to tighten. He shook his head. No, he won't let the Claus in his mind die.

The bathroom door clicked open, snapping him back to reality. It revealed a dripping-wet Ness with a white towel draped around his waist and another one on top of his head. Lucas was surprised to see developed muscle on Ness' chest, shoulders and biceps, thanks to lengthy baseball practice. How did he manage to hide all that under a simple striped T-shirt was beyond Lucas, who felt a twinge of envy; he barely sported any muscle to speak of. He had a lithe, wiry body that was all gangly limbs and little else. He knew he would grow to be quite tall, but height alone without muscular tone would look repelling. Lucas politely averted his gaze and faced away from Ness, choosing to mess with his bag. He opened it and began pulling out various stuff from there. If Ness heard the phone call with Duster, he didn't comment on it. A few minutes later, Lucas turned around to see Ness now fully dressed in striped white and blue pyjamas, sitting crosslegged on his bed.

"'Sup," Ness said, nodding towards him.

"Do you greet everyone like that?" Lucas asked, slightly irritated.

"Only the people I like to annoy," Ness said with a smirk.

"Pfft, fine. Whatever," Lucas said with a wry grin. He lied down on his bed and crossed his leg on his other knee, clasping his fingers on top of his chest. He stared at the ceiling for a while, taking in the faint outside noise that filtered in through the open window.

"So," Ness started. Lucas half-turned his head towards the other boy.

"So?" Lucas repeated.

"So," Ness answered back with a nod, "Aren't you telling me what's your real deal with the dragos?"

"Ugh, God. Not this again," Lucas groaned and slapped a hand to his face, "I was asked the same question a billion times already today. You were there too, right?"

"Yeah, but I wanna know the real deal, not the fancy 'I-swooped-down-to-save-my-friends' horseshit. Those dragos acted like they knew you or something."

"That's right," Lucas replied.

"What. They actually know you?" Ness questioned.

Lucas faced Ness with an unimpressed look on his face.

"I'm from Tazmily. Tazmily is in Nowhere Islands. Dragos are native to Nowhere Islands," Lucas droned in monotone, "Do the math, Ness."

Ness looked fairly awestruck, "Damn. That must be cool, living with dinosaurs and such."

"Yeah," Lucas said, shifting his gaze back to the ceiling, "Back then, I used to play a lot with them with my brother."

"Hold on. You have a brother?" Ness asked. Lucas inwardly cursed himself for letting that slip. Might as well spill the beans.

"Mm," he hummed, a pensive expression on his face, "My twin. His name was Claus. We did everything together, yet we bickered all the time. He was quite a character. Stubborn, headstrong and adventurous, while I was a timid and shy crybaby. I relied on him for everything." Lucas turned his head fully towards Ness with a smile, "You remind me so much of him, Ness."

Ness nodded in understandment.

"I.. I see. I'm sorry," he murmured.

"It's alright," Lucas said.

They sat in thoughtful silence for a while, before Ness looked up.

"You know what, Lucas?" he spoke up.

"Hm?"

"You're actually a pretty decent kid," he said with a cheerful grin, "I mean, I thought you were just a jerk who likes to punch people, but really, you aren't half-bad."

"Thank you," Lucas said, taking the left-handed compliment at face value, "Uh, sorry about hitting you in the park the other day."

"No biggie," Ness said. He hesitated for minute, as if he was going to say something. A loud noise of people shouting came from the hallway, interrupting him.

"The hell?" Ness said, jumping on his feet and going for the door. Lucas whipped his legs over the bed's edge and stood up, following Ness. They opened the door to see a familiar portly kid causing quite a scene in front of them.

"You think I'm staying in this _dump_ with the _chink_?" Pokey screamed, almost frothing at the mouth, "This is a fucking joke!"

Lucas noted Pokey was in a fancy red and black suit, and sporting a visible black eye. A hotel worker was trying to calm him down.

"Please, sir. Calm down, I beg of you," the worker said, nervously looking around. Pokey grabbed the unfortunate man by the collar.

"If my _father_ hears of this, he shall have the heads of every miserable son of a bitch in this two-bit excuse of a hotel. Ya hear?" He murmured dangerously, before dropping the hotel worker, who scampered towards the end of the hallway, apparently going to call security. A few curious heads poked from their rooms to gawk at the scene in front of them. Ness stepped out, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

"Alright, Pokey. Settle down. You're causing a lot of noise," Ness said, standing in front of the angered blond. Pokey's venomous look faltered a little, but he put on a snarl when Lucas stepped casually next to Ness, eyeing him with obvious disinterest.

"This place is a joke," Pokey bellowed, "You penniless bastards can stay here. I, Pokey Minch, can't have the indignity. I shall be in my penthouse on the Monotoli Tower."

"Uh-huh. Good for you," Ness said, still unimpressed.

"Move it, carrot head," Pokey said, shoving Lucas aside, before pompously straightening up to his full height and barrelling out of view. Everyone murmured to themselves, before closing their doors and going back to their rooms. Ness shook his head and looked up towards a still-opened door.

"Sorry about that, Poo," he said before going back to the room. Lucas' eyes travelled to a seething Asian kid, who tightly clenched his fist in front of him. Lucas remembered seeing him in the bus ride. If he was the one who gave Pokey that black eye, Lucas made a mental note to send the kid chocolate or something. He followed Ness to the room. Once he closed the door, he saw Ness pulling out an elongated thing from his folded denim shorts and examining it closely.

"What's that?" Lucas asked, eyeing the scowl on Ness' face.

"That's from the museum," Ness answered, "It's a piece from the railing. Check it out."

He chucked it at Lucas, who barely managed to catch it. He fumbled with it for a second before gripping it securely in his hands.

"What's wrong with it?" Lucas asked, inspecting the piece of hardwood. It was around eight inches long. He saw irregular char marks along the splintered edges.

"It's… burnt?" he said incredulously, looking up at Ness, "How did that happen?"

"I don't know," Ness said, running a hand through his messy hair, "I don't know what happened, but I'm sure of one thing."

Lucas shot him a questioning look.

"I saw someone down there in the dragos' nest," Ness said, grimly looking into Lucas' eyes, "I pointed him to Paula, just before the railing broke underneath us."

"I didn't see anyone in there," Lucas said with a frown.

"Exactly. I saw him disappear just like that," he said, and snapped his fingers.

"Are you sure about that?" Lucas asked, seemingly skeptical.

"I could've gotten killed there. I'm _sure_ I saw someone down in the dragos' nest."

"What did he look like?"

"Didn't see. He was wearing a hoodie that hid most of his face, but I could tell he was looking at us with a weird grin."

"I see," Lucas said, nodding.

"Yeah, I can tell you're not buying it, but I'm sure of what I saw. Believe me when I tell you there was that guy looking at us just before Paula and I fell and I'm positive he caused the railing to collapse somehow."

"Okay, okay. I believe you," Lucas said, raising his hands, "But why would he do that?"

Ness shrugged.

"That's what I'm trying to know," he said, stifling a yawn, "Oh man, it's getting late. We better have some shuteye. Can you please turn off the lights?"

He trudged to his bed and flopped down on it. Lucas flipped off the switches at the door, causing the room to fall in darkness, save for the table lamp next to Ness' bed. Lucas trudged towards his bed and promptly planted his face on the pillow.

"Goodnight, Luke," Ness said. Lucas raised an eyebrow, his face still buried in the pillow. Luke, huh?

"Night," he replied half-heartedly with a muffled voice, wiggling his feet to slide them under the covers. He dwelled on the possible identity of the mysterious person Ness saw, before drifting into sleep.


	9. Chapter 9 - At the Monotoli

**Good news and bad news: The bad news is this is mostly a filler chapter where nothing much happens, the good news is the next chapter will come up in a few hours from posting this chapter.**

 **Review responses:**

 _ **Guest:**_

 **Hiya. :D Nice to know you liked the bit of comedy in there. :P**

 **Well, I don't know about Kumatora, because she doesn't seem to fit in the story right now. Since there are few known survivors from Tazmily, and the only ones around are Lucas and Duster. As for Mother 1 characters, so far we have the Garrickson baby. No Mother 1 protags are in planning either. Sorry.**

 _ **hellolord307:**_

 **Haha, no that's Lucas. :P**

 _ **crazy dragon ninja:**_

 **Oh. I'm glad you were actually moved by the chapter. Thank you very much. :)**

 _ **Connor the speling pro:**_

 **No big deal. I perfectly understand everyone's busy these days.**

 **Ness is having a bit more time in the spotlight for this chapter and the one next, so we'll see just how much is he smarter than he looks. Yeah, long transitions are boring if dragged out too long. Better to cut down to the actual scene instead. :P**

 **Wait.. Oh, that's right. I did the usual mistake because y^-1 denotes inverse, not actually y to the power of -1 which is 1/y. Oops. XD**

 **Of course Lucas' foster parents care a bit about him, otherwise they wouldn't have bothered to take him in. I guess the occasional thought that crosses their mind would be typical of foster parents who deep down, they'll never view him as their own flesh and blood, even if they say otherwise. And yeah, I wouldn't want to read anyone's mind just not to hear such awkward thoughts. That's why I'm happy Lucas' abilities don't exist IRL. :P**

 **Ah, Pokey. This guy's a menace, but the common wisdom says 'evil begins at home'. I think his awful personality is the product of his terrible upbringing. I mean, you got Aloysius and Lardna, what do you expect? XD Yeah, Ness is getting along with Lucas, somewhat. Chuck it up to Ness' persistence. :P**

 **I'll explain the balcony thing later. XD It did look like an accident, since nobody really believes Ness about the mysterious person.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9 - At the Monotoli**

Ness woke up at exactly seven in the morning the next day. He let out a huge yawn and smacked his lips, grabbing his phone to check the time. The frequent alarm call must have conditioned his body to rouse from sleep at this time. He turned over to eye his roommate, who was sleeping in the bed on the other side of the room. Lucas was covered from head to toe save for a dishevelled red mop of hair that poked from below the covers. Ness smirked at the weird color. Why did blondie choose to dye his hair red was anyone's guess - possibly some oddball fashion statement. He eventually dropped the smirk for a contemplative frown, taking his memory back to what happened at the museum the previous day. Too bad Lucas didn't seem to believe him when he told him about that person. Ness was absolutely certain he saw a hooded kid down in the drago exhibit flashing him the weirdest grin just a moment before he fell with Paula in there. When he fell down, he thought he was a goner, but he was sure he could have done something somehow to protect Paula. He would have tried spewing fire or bashed the drago's skull in with his fists. _Anything_ but that defenseless feeling that overcame him when the big drago approached. That helplessness he felt just before Lucas jumped down stirred something deep within him, but he couldn't point out what. He stiffly ran a hand through his hair and got up, feeling his bladder protest its full state.

He emerged from the bathroom after finishing his business and brushing his teeth. He walked to the balcony and listlessly stared outside, taking in the view of Fourside and the mainland in the distance. On his right, the Monotoli Tower appeared in the Fourside's center of business, flanked by countless smaller towers. Ness wondered which one of the uppermost floors was Pokey's family penthouse. Knowing the absurd property prices in that part of town, that must have cost a pretty penny, but the Minches were notorious for ostentatious display of their wealth wherever they could. Ness shifted his gaze to the left, where the fancy buildings of the downtown area obscured some of the squalid buildings of Lower Fourside. While the downtown area was full to the brim with huge towers, Lower Fourside was made up of dirty, rundown brick apartments at best. To him, the discrepancy between the two sights was obscene. He stepped back into the hotel room and eyed Lucas' sleeping form. This time, the bedsheets slipped halfway to the floor, revealing a troubled-looking Lucas. He shifted and tossed around in his sleep, his eyes were screwed shut and a sheen of cold sweat covered his frowning face. Ness watched with morbid curiosity as Lucas let out a few sporadic gasps, then began whispering inaudibly to himself.

 _Poor kid must be having a bad dream,_ Ness thought, wondering whether he should wake him up or not. Lucas had a mean fist, and having first-hand experience with shaking him awake, Ness chose to observe instead. It felt weird watching someone in their sleep, but he'd never seen someone having a dream before. Lucas' tossing abruptly stopped, lying motionlessly on his back. A minute later, Ness walked up to Lucas and lightly tapped his shoulder. Lucas woke up with a jolt, drawing in a sharp breath as his eyes opened wide. He shielded his eyes with an arm when Ness went to pull up the window blinds.

"Rise and shine, Luke," Ness said. Lucas blinked as his eyes adjusted.

"Good.. morning?" Lucas rasped with a heavy tongue, then sat up, "What time is it?"

"Half past seven," Ness said, reading the time.

"Early," Lucas groaned and flopped back down, "No, I.. to sleep."

"My, aren't you a morning person."

"Go to hell."

"We're supposed to gather at 9 in the lobby. I think you need a shower and something to eat meanwhile."

"Just bring me coffee."

"Nobody's bringing you nothing," Ness said, then inwardly cringed at the double negative. He cleared his throat before announcing loudly, "I mean, _get your ass in gear already, Lucas!_ "

Lucas yelped at the outburst. He hastily got up from bed, "Okay, okay. Sheesh."

Half and hour later, the two got out of their room with Ness walked in high spirits while Lucas trudged behind. On their way down in the elevator, Lucas made a face at the faint melody that played somewhere in the background.

"Elevator music," Lucas muttered in distaste.

"Tacky, I know," Ness said, chuckling. Lucas flashed him a bored stare.

"Where are we going again?" he asked, stifling another yawn.

"Breakfast, then meet up with everyone else for whatever we're doing today."

The elevator came to a stop, and the door opened to reveal the ground floor of the building.

"Uh huh," Lucas said as they walked out of the elevator, "I want to go to the Topolla theater in the afternoon."

"I don't think the teachers would let you wander in town as you please," Ness said, "Unless the school goes there as a group."

"They did let Pokey leave last night," Lucas said, "Isn't he at the Monotoli building now?"

"That's Pokey," Ness said with a shrug, "He just pulls out the Daddy card to get what he wants."

"Right."

"Why do you wanna go to the theater?"

"Meeting up with a friend, but I don't know how to get to the theater."

"I've watched the Runaway Five perform there a while back," Ness said slowly, testing the waters, "I can take you there if you want."

"Hmm," Lucas seemed to weigh his options for a bit before nodding in agreement, "Okay."

"Great," Ness beamed, "We'll see what can we do then."

The two of them grabbed a tray each and filed behind the sparse queue on the breakfast buffet; Ness had anticipated a larger number of people there, but he thanked his luck. He piled his plates high with almost everything on the menu, while Lucas asked for an omelet, a few pieces of toast and grabbed a mug of coffee and a cup of orange juice. He gawked at Ness' overflowing tray as they picked a table to sit.

"..That's a lot of food," Lucas said hesitantly. In comparison to Ness', his breakfast looked rather paltry.

"It's all paid for, and I'm hungry," Ness said before he began wolfing down his food at an alarming speed. Lucas felt slightly self-conscious at his table manners, which seemed dainty in front of Ness.

"I don't know, seems a little tasteless to fill your tray like that," he mused, "Are you going to finish all of that?" Ness paused briefly with a fork halfway to his mouth. He swallowed and flashed Lucas a smirk.

"Naw, it's pretty tasty," he quipped, then snorted at his own pun, "I will wipe my plates clean, trust me."

"Sure," Lucas drawled, sipping his coffee, amused and mildly grossed out. He noted the absence of omelets on Ness' tray. Or any egg food for that matter.

"Why didn't you put eggs as well?" Lucas asked.

"Not too hot about eggs," Ness said through a mouthful, "I can't stand the smell they leave on plates and stuff."

"Smell? What smell?" Lucas said, cocking his head to the side.

"Oh, you know," Ness waved vaguely with his utensil, "Eggs leave a funky smell on plates. I don't like it. I have to douse everything in bleach to get it off."

"Huh," Lucas thought about it for a while, then shrugged, "No idea. It doesn't bother me that much."

"Since we're talking about food, what's your favorite?"

"Omelets," he replied simply, gesturing towards his plate.

"Makes sense," Ness hummed, "I prefer steak."

"Steak? Not a big fan, either."

"Well, that makes two of you."

"Two of what?"

"People I know who don't like steak. The other one is Pokey." He snickered, "One time, mom almost force-fed him some when he came over."

Lucas grimaced.

"I.. think I'll start liking steak now," he said, not appreciating the fact he shared something in common with that corpulent demon-spawn. Ness barked out a laugh at Lucas' discomfort before his eyes flickered towards a familiar pink-wearing girl in the distance behind Lucas. He waved at her and she approached them. She raised an eyebrow in amusement when her eyes fell on Ness' tray.

"I see you helped yourself to half of the buffet food," Paula said, setting down her own tray and taking a seat next to Ness.

"Eh, not really," Ness said, eyeing his already half-finished meal, "How are you today?"

"I'm fine. Much better now."

"Good to hear," Ness said approvingly, "Say, what are we supposed to do after 9 o'clock?"

"We are supposed to visit the Monotoli building," Paula said, counting on her fingers, "Then a tour of the Senate, and there are rumors of letting us have a free afternoon in Duffy Square."

"Great," Ness exclaimed, "Hey, Lucas, we could go to the theater then. It's right by that place."

"Oh. Good," Lucas said.

"Theater?" Paula questioned, "Why are you going there?"

"Lucas told.." Ness said with a full mouth, swallowing after Paula gave him a disapproving look, "Lucas told me he wanted to meet up with a friend there, but he doesn't know how to get there. I'm just walking him to the theater."

"That's nice," Paula said, "I actually wanted you to come with me to help me with shopping."

"But we're on a school trip," Ness whined, "How come you're going shopping on a school trip, Paula?"

"All the girls are going shopping," Paula said, "Even teachers."

"Girls," Ness shook his head. Paula playfully punched his arm while Lucas watched with mild interest, finishing his juice.

After the three finished their breakfast, Ness unsurprisingly finishing first, they got up and went to the lobby, where the school kids already began gathering in a big crowd in the middle of the foyer. Ness, Paula and Lucas got into the crowd, where each teacher handed out pastel green badges that contained the school's logo, their names and the supervising teacher's phone number to their students. Ness eyed the garish badge with contempt.

"What is this?" Ness said.

"A badge," Mr. Pirkle replied simply as if it were a legitimate question before handing a similar badge to Lucas, Poo and the other students. Ness pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Are they expecting us to wear this? It looks dorky as hell," Ness complained, holding the badge with the tip of his fingers. Poo pinned the badge on his shirt and Lucas hesitantly followed suit. Ness grumbled and stuffed the badge in his pocket. He spent the bus ride to the Monotoli Building sharply criticizing the teachers' horrible taste, eventually earning a brisk "Shut up, Ness" from Lucas.

* * *

Ness was surprised to know there was another wide building beneath the Monotoli Tower that acted as a pedestal for the tower. When he expressed his surprise at that, Lucas told him there were many famous buildings with the same design scheme. As the students pooled in front of the gate, they were welcomed by a man in a fancy business suit that could cost more than this trip's entire budget. He condescendingly ushered the students into the 'heart of the trade center of the world'. Ness saw Lucas roll his eyes at the description.

"Say," Ness said, nudging Lucas' arm, "Do you think we'll see Pokey around?"

"I hope not," Lucas replied as the business suit directed them towards a huge elevator on the inner side of the lobby building.

"And here, we have the elevator to our iconic observatory. Ladies first," the suit snickered. The girls walked in first before the elevator doors closed behind. Ness' jaw slackened as the floor count skyrocketed on the panel in front of him. That elevator was _fast_. The business suit let out a patronizing chuckle when he saw the expression on Ness' face.

"Ah, yes. This is one of the fastest elevators in existence today. You see, in the Monotoli Corporation, we strive for nothing but the best. We—"

Ness stopped listening, opting to grin at Lucas' thoroughly disgusted expression as he eyed the inflated tour guide. A minute later, the elevator arrived, and the students filed in. Lucas stood next to the control panel where a uniformed lady stood with her nose high in the air. She must have taken his three feet distance from her as an affront to her private space, evident with the way she pursed her lips in distaste and made a comment about perverts staring at her hips. Lucas dragged Ness by the arm and placed him in the space between him and the elevator lady. Ness grimaced at the tight grip on his arm.

"The sooner I get out of here, the better," Lucas said through clenched teeth as the elevator took off towards the higher floors.

"Okay, but you're hurting my arm," Ness said, tugging his left arm for emphasis. Lucas loosened his vice grip with a quick apology.

"Not comfortable in fancy places, huh?" Ness joked. Lucas replied with a terse nod, his smoldering glare into space caused some hapless kid standing in front of them to fidget uncomfortably. The elevator slowed down to a halt and a ' _ping_ ' sounded as the door opened.

"Welcome to the Monotoli Tower observatory level," the elevator lady said in her snooty voice. Lucas seemed an inch close from flipping off the woman as they walked out, still dragging Ness by the arm. They were in a big balcony-like extension of the building. Tall, intricate steel poles were erected on the edge with panes of glass rising halfway to their height between the poles. Ness spotted Paula among the girls who were gathering to watch the spectacular view. They approached the crowd, and Ness tapped Paula on the shoulder.

"Hey," she greeted and patted the space next to her, "The view's amazing, check it out."

Ness peered over and let out a lengthy whistle, "Whoa, what a sight."

They could see the entirety of Midtown and Upper Fourside in the distance. The huge highways narrowed to strips from this distance, the cars that sped on the shrunk highways appeared like colorful ants, and the the roofs of nearby towers appeared visibly from their vantage point. Ness tiptoed to take a better look, leaning with his hands on the concrete ledge.

"You're leaning too close to the glass," Lucas said, tapping on Ness' arm.

"Yeah, wouldn't want to fall down from up here too," he said, taking a step back. Even though the edge was secured with thick glass, the events from yesterday were still fresh in his mind.

"Ha, imagine it on the news," Ness joked, "Something like, _'Breaking: Two fourteen year-olds jump off from the Monotoli Tower. More at five.'_ "

"I'm thirteen," Lucas said flatly.

"Eh, all the same," he shrugged. He glanced to a point behind his shoulders, only to tense and rigidly stare back into the distance. Lucas curiously looked behind him to spot Pokey, still clad in that suit of his and pompously barrelling into the observatory. He spotted Ness and walked over to him, rudely shoving Lucas aside and wedging his thick frame between the two.

"Hey," he drawled in a sickeningly sweet voice, "Like what you see, Ness? Oh hi, Paula. Looking stunning as usual. Heh heh."

Paula was weirded out enough to leave and join some of her girl friends, while Ness shifted uncomfortably in his place. If Pokey was able to piss off someone as staid and even-tempered as Poo into punching him in the eye, Ness wondered how come _he_ didn't do something so far.

"My father is Monotoli's closest partner," Pokey bragged, placing a plump arm around Ness' shoulder, who tried to wiggle away from his hold. Ness resigned into listening to Pokey, who bragged about how his family did this or that.

"Oh? How come this building isn't named the Minch Tower, then?" Lucas asked innocently after a few minutes. Pokey shot him a murderous glare.

"Who asked you, Pig Face?" he snarled. Lucas' calm disposition didn't falter.

"I mean, since your family is _so_ great and mighty," he said with a smirk, "How come you folk are stuck living in some small town like Onett? Aren't you guys rich enough to afford living in Fourside?"

Ness furrowed his eyebrows . What was Lucas doing?

"None of your goddamned business, you ginger faggot!" Pokey screamed, his face flushed red, angry veins protruded from his neck.

"Aww, I thought your family was poor for a minute," Lucas said with a nonchalant shrug before looking Pokey in the eyes with an amused grin, making Pokey's hackles rise.

"Is daddy going through financial difficulties?" Lucas continued in a scornful tone, "Business going belly-up?"

Pokey's eyes narrowed into slits. He uttered an infuriated growl as he approached Lucas, apparently bent on punching the living snot out of the faux-redhead, who stood his ground with a mocking smirk. Ness stepped to prevent Pokey from attacking Lucas.

"Uh, boys? Is there something wrong?" Mr. Pirkle's unsure voice came out from behind. Pokey whirled around to see the teacher standing with his arms crossed, his eyes flickered between Pokey and Lucas.

"No, sir," Lucas said.

"Huh," Mr. Pirkle said, wiping his forehead, "Well, I got some bad news, kids."

Ness' face fell.

"Please don't say we can't go to Duffy Square," he said frantically. The teacher looked confused.

"What? No," he said, "We just received a call from the senate. The tour has been cancelled."

Ness blinked for a second, "Oh. That's it?"

"Yes. I think we're going to Duffy Square after this. Anyway, you kids behave yourselves now. Ness, wear your badge, all right?"

With that, Mr. Pirkle turned around to join a few other teachers who seemed a little bummed about the senate visit being cancelled on short notice. Pokey turned to Lucas.

"This ain't over, shrimp," he said in a low tone, before walking away, making sure to roughly shove Lucas with his meaty hand, causing Lucas' back to bump against the protective glass. Lucas' knowing smirk was still firmly in place. Ness gave Lucas a questioning look.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he asked, "Pokey could've seriously done you over just now."

Lucas chuckled.

"No, he wouldn't," Lucas said, "The teachers are standing right here, and I.. saw him get into a squabble with one of the security guards before they let him in. Look, he's watching Pokey like a hawk." He pointed to a heavyset, bald guard whose grim eyes watched Pokey leave from under bushy, furrowed eyebrows.

"Hm," Ness hummed, nodding his head and scratching his chin, "A sagacious observation."

Lucas' smirk dropped, replaced with an exasperated deadpan.

"What's with you and weird words?" he asked. Ness only flashed him a grin and laughed, causing Lucas to smile and shake his head.


	10. Chapter 10 - Topolla Blues

**Chapter 10 - Topolla Blues**

A few hours later, Lucas and Ness jumped off the bus that stopped at the northern end of the world's most iconic intersection: Duffy Square. The two boys looked around in wonder, dazzled by the flashing lights from the uncountable billboards above them, the sea of people and the smells and sounds that assaulted their senses the moment they exited the bus. On the other side, a red traffic light held back a fleet of honking cars as faceless people crossed the street in brisk strides. The streets were jam-packed with cars and pedestrians alike. Every other person walked in a business suit or held a bagel wrapped in a paper bag for a quick lunch as they went about their business. The sensory overload proved too much for Lucas, who grabbed Ness' arm in apprehension. Ness swore his arm will end up bruised by the time they go back to Onett.

"Too many people here," Lucas said with a faint hint of panic in his voice. Ness rolled his eyes.

"They won't bite, dude. Anyway, I think the girls are going shopping in that place over there."

He pointed towards an art deco building on the corner with a hulking red banner that held a five-pointed star and 'Marcy's' underneath it. It also had 'The World's Largest Store' in all caps on the side banner.

"Figures," Lucas said, "Are we going in? We still have an hour before going to the theater."

"Sure," Ness replied and walked over towards the store, following behind the crowd of kids and teachers. Ness dragged Lucas to the upper floors, where they sold sports equipment. Lucas watched as Ness drooled over this baseball bat or that glove, lamenting not having any good stores in Onett. He fell in love with a silver, study-looking bat, but complained about the obscene price tag. He got himself a good-looking glove instead.

"Did you see that bat, Lucas? It was so awesome," Ness fawned as they stepped on the escalators.

"Uh huh," Lucas managed to get out. He wasn't interested in baseball bats one bit, and he was feeling a little odd.

"…I mean, 500 bucks for a baseball bat?" Ness' speech was getting drowned out, replaced with nothingness. Lucas was walking mechanically towards a glass wall. Ness followed next to him.

"… It's beautiful, but the price is just outrageous," Lucas managed to distantly hear, before he peered sightlessly at the view below the store. A large, brick fence separated a rundown yard from the street. In the middle, there was a mound of jagged, shiny silver objects that were triangular in shape. Ness stopped talking after taking a long look at Lucas.

"Lucas?" Ness said, shaking the other boy, who stared catatonically into the yard below with a dopey grin. Ness followed his stare to the weird-looking object below.

"What's the matter?" he asked, staring at the yard, before a strange euphoric feeling overcame him. It felt as if he were home after finishing a heaping serving of steak or waking up from a lengthy nap. The mysterious mound was singing to him a soft melody that melted his heart and filled him with joy. He grinned, mirroring the dumb grin on Lucas' face, and rested his head on the slightly taller kid's shoulder. Lucas placed his head on top of Ness'.

"So cool, isn't it," Ness slurred, grin still in place.

"Yeah," Lucas breathed.

"I just wanna," Ness vaguely gestured with his arm, "I just wanna lie there and… sleep forever."

"Yeah."

"… Lucas?"

"Yeah?"

"Did anyone tell you you're too warm and comfy?"

"…Yeah."

They stared like that into the park for what seemed to be like ages. They didn't pay attention to the person who stood behind them and loudly cleared their throat. After two throat clearings, the person approached them and gruffly poked their shoulders.

" _Excuse me!_ " The loud call jarred the two from their trance. They whipped around to see a short, stout security woman flashing them an annoyed scowl. Ness realized his proximity to Lucas and promptly distanced himself, an embarrassed blush tinting his face.

"C-can I help you, officer?" he asked politely.

"Uh-huh, read the damn sign," she said, gesturing towards a sign hanging right above their heads. Ness cranked his neck up to read, 'No P.D.A'.

Oh.

"It...it-it-it's not what it looks like, officer," he stammered, flailing his arms. The security guard rolled her eyes.

"Sure it ain't what it looks like, kid," she said, shaking her head. She walked away, grumbling about 'kids these days', and how they 'can't keep it in their goddamn pants'. Ness watched her leave, before turning to Lucas, who looked equally mortified.

"Let's… just not talk about this, okay?" Lucas said sheepishly, walking past Ness, who nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, let's not."

* * *

"And _voilà_!" Ness announced as he raised his arms, "Topolla Theater."

"That's... huge!" Lucas' eyes widened. Duster was performing _here_?

"Most iconic theater in the country," Ness explained, "You have no idea how many artists would kill to have a chance at performing here."

"Really?"

"Yup. So who's your friend you wanted to meet here?"

"An old friend. He's with a band that's performing tonight."

Ness' jaw dropped.

"No way!" he said, pointing towards a billboard at the theater gates, "This band?"

Lucas' eyes followed Ness' finger to a poster with 'D.C.M.C' in bold print and 'Featuring world-famous artist: VENUS'

"Holy shit, Venus is there," Ness said in awe, "Your friend is really something."

Lucas smirked, "Maybe. He's a pretty good bassist."

"Oh, the guy with the big afro?"

"Huh?" Lucas' eyes whipped back to the poster, where the five members of the band were depicted. The bassist appeared on the left side, wearing a massive mane of hair and holding an upright bass.

"…Yeah, him," Lucas said, "Come on, let's go in."

"Don't we need tickets or something?" Ness asked.

"Right," Lucas said, fishing out his phone. He tapped a number and held the phone to his ear. Almost a minute passed, Lucas grew anxious.

"Come on, pick up," Lucas muttered under his breath before perking up, "Yeah, hi. Mhm, yeah. Yes, I'm outside. Oh... I see... Good... Sure, okay. See you."

He hung up and motioned for Ness to follow.

"They should let us in without much trouble," Lucas said as they walked to the front. True to his word, when the ticket guy saw them, he let them in without much trouble, although he did question Ness, who said he was with Lucas. Once they were let in, a lemonade-blond man approached them.

"Hey," he said, "Aren't you Lucas?"

Lucas nodded. The man smiled and extended a hand. Lucas shook it.

"I'm OJ, DCMC saxophonist and lead singer. Pleased to meet you. Sorry Duster couldn't come up, because the concert will start in twenty minutes. We got you the best seats."

"That's nice," Ness commented.

"Yup," OJ nodded, "Anything for Duster's friends. Anyway, you two order whatever you like. After the concert, come check us out in the backstage."

He handed Lucas a rectangular slip of paper.

"That's the backstage pass," he winked, "See ya after the concert, okay?"

"Of course we will," Lucas said, "Thank you."

OJ gave a thumbs up and left. A few minutes later, the two boys took their seats which had the best view of the big stage. Much to Lucas' dismay, however, they were seated among rich oafs and pompous airheads. Both Ness and Lucas cringed at the trio of middle-aged women in the row behind them.

"Where is my ice teeeeea?" One of the hags whined, while the other one spoke loudly on the phone to her husband.

"This theater doesn't compare to the ones in Summers," the third woman said haughtily, crinkling her nose. Ness had enough. He turned around with an irritated look on his face.

"Excuse me, mind if you keep it down?" he hissed. The three women wore identical shocked looks.

"Oh my goodness!"

"How rude!"

"Do you even know who you're talking to?"

Lucas slapped a palm to his face.

"Ness. Just ignore them," he muttered quietly. Ness turned back with his arms crossed, mumbling something about menopausal women. The lights dimmed, with spotlights disappearing from the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a loud booming voice came out from the speakers, "Let's hear it for: DCMC!"

The already loud crowd cheered as faint music began playing, and a spotlight centered on a familiar blond man.

"Tonda Gossa," OJ greeted, "We are Desperado Crash Mambo Combo, or DCMC for short. I'm OJ, and those are the boys." He introduced the band members.

"Dude, what kind of name is Lucky?" Ness yelled to be heard over the cheering crowd.

"I think it's a stage name," Lucas replied.

"Obviously!"

"Okay," OJ announced, "Let's sing a song about a Jazz band partly, the song is called the Tzars of Groove because the band. That's what the band was called, the Tzars of Groove, m'kay?"

The band started with a catchy beat. While Lucas listened in for the bass, Ness liked the lead guitar riff. The frontman began signing, his voice dramatically different from the deep tone he normally spoke with. A few songs later, the band seemed to have won over the crowd, which was cheering rabidly and chanting the band's name.

"Alright," OJ said, "We're havin' fun, aren't we, Fourside?"

The crowd roared in assent.

"Okay, then. Let's all scream our lungs out for our guest star tonight. Say Welcome Home to _Venus!_ "

The crowd erupted in applause and cheering as a tall, blonde woman in an iconic black dress walked into the stage. The drummer ticked a slow beat as the bassist played out a perfect rendition of a famous bassline of one of Venus' most well-known songs. Venus and OJ sung the bluesy song as a duet, accentuating their lines with a slow dance.

"Tonda Gossa!"

* * *

"That was awesome," Ness exclaimed as he exited the hall with Lucas, "Those DCMC guys are unbelievable."

"Yeah," Lucas said with a grin, "Venus was really pretty, too."

"Shouldn't we go to the backstage now?" Ness asked, "Actually, how do you get there?"

"I'd look there," Lucas said, pointing to a large archway with a panel that read 'Authorized Personnel Only' on the side, a security guard stood there to bar fans from flooding the backstage.

"Ah, then let's go already," Ness said, dragging Lucas by the arm. Lucas showed the backstage pass to the guard, who let them in after telling them not to spend too much time inside. They were given odd looks by several people who walked about their business, but nobody paid them any mind. They stopped in front of a door with a star on the middle.

"I guess this is where the band is?" Ness said, unsure whether he should knock. Lucas already rapped on the door. The afro-wearing bassist opened, a grin drew across his face when he saw Lucas.

"Lucas, my man," Duster said, bumping fists with his friend, then nodded to Ness, "Who's that?"

"That's Ness. A friend from school."

"Pleased to meet ya. Well then, come on in."

Duster stepped to the side and swung the door open. Lucas walked in with Ness following behind, eyeing his surroundings. The room's walls were painted an unattractive shade of green with thin yellow stripes running from the ceiling to the floor. The rest of the band members stood there, the guitarist was having a smoke in the corner, and the drummer and keyboardist were having a chat with OJ.

"Hey," the guitarist spoke up, "I know you kid, Drago Whisperer from the news?"

"That's right," 'Lucky' said, closing the door, "If it wasn't for little Lucas here, I would've stayed back in Onett."

"That's some luck indeed."

"What's with the nickname?" Lucas asked.

"Heh, our manager said calling me 'Duster' won't bring us fans," Duster explained, "I told him I was lucky old Wess didn't actually name me Moron or some other colorful term he used to call me with, so the manager began calling me Lucky. Guess the name stuck afterwards. Though please, it's just Duster to you."

The bassist took off his wig to reveal brown hair buzzed short. Ness' eyes widened in recognition. He'd seen this man before, albeit last time he saw him, he was some bum on Onett's streets.

"The hobo?" Ness said loudly, then immediately clamped a hand on his mouth. _Shit!_

"Huh?" Lucas and Duster faced Ness with confused looks.

"Hob... Hobo-nero. Ahem, I mean, Habanero. The chilli pepper... Heh heh, yeah."

"What?"

"Aha," OJ said, clamping a friendly hand on Ness' shoulder, "You mean Habanero the band? They're the chillest band, man."

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, they're the best," Ness said gingerly.

Venus walked in, still in her flowing black dress. She had a very relaxed air around her from the way she casually greeted OJ and Duster, then took a seat on the couch in the middle of the room.

"Hey, Magic, gimme a smoke," she said to the guitarist. He gave her one with a lighter. She lit one up and blew a puff of blue smoke.

"Careful, now Venus," OJ said jokingly, "Smoking's bad for your velvety voice."

Venus let out a loud laugh.

"Bullshit," she said, "Besides, I only smoke once a month. You should do that too, OJ."

Ness waved away the plume of smoke. Venus took notice of the two boys, before extinguishing her cigarette and cupping her face with her hands.

"Oh my god, who is this cute boy?" she said, getting up from her place and walking towards the two teens with her eyes on Ness in particular.

"You're just _adorable_ ," she said, affectionately pinching Ness' cheeks. He stared at her, dumbfounded. A celebrity pinching his cheek and calling him cute effectively flatlined his cognitive functions.

"Uhh…" Ness managed to say after she let go of his cheek, a dusting of red spread across his face.

"Tell me sweetie, what's your name?" she asked, flashing Ness a dazzling smile.

"…Ness?"

She squealed, pinching his cheeks again.

"I love your name," she said in a high-pitched tone, placing her dainty arm around Ness' shoulder. Ness could smell the perfume she wore. Paula should totally wear perfume like that.

"Well, looks like Venus has taken a bit of a shine to you, young man," Duster joked. Ness shot him a glare.

"I like your hair, kid," Venus said to Lucas with a mischievous grin, "Say, does the carpet match the drapes?"

All the males in the room save for Lucas became suddenly silent. Ness' eyes widened, the blush on his face grew impossibly darker while OJ and the drummer turned around, their faces tinted scarlet with barely-constrained snickers. They cracked up, letting out a raucous laughter.

"What?" Lucas demanded, baffled by their hooting.

"Venus," Duster managed to say, gasping for breath, "He's just a kid, what the hell?"

"I haven't gotten an answer," Venus said flatly, clinging closer to Ness, much to his embarrassment.

"The answer is," Duster said, wiping a tear from his eye, "Lucas is a blond naturally."

"Oh, nice," she said, "You should give me pointers, kid. Your hair looks natural."

"Thank you?" Lucas said sheepishly, then glanced at the time on a clock hanging on the wall. His eyes widened, "Oh no, we're late."

"Late for what?" OJ asked.

"W-we were supposed to be at the bus stops half an hour ago, right?" Ness asked.

"Yeah, the buses must have left for the hotel by now."

"Which one's your hotel?" Duster asked. Ness told him the hotel's name.

"Oh. Oh, let me drive you there," Venus said. Ness looked up towards her.

"Really?" he said in awe. She chuckled, tracing a finger on his nose bridge.

"Anything for you, cutie," she cooed. Lucas resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

* * *

"Thank you for the ride, Ms. Venus," Ness said, flashing Venus a grin as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

"You're welcome, honey," she crooned, "Come visit me whenever you're around, okay?"

"Sure."

"Come here, you cute thing," she said, hooking an arm behind Ness' neck and pulling him in to give him a peck on the cheek, leaving a well-defined lipstick mark too close to Ness' mouth for comfort, "See you, boys."

"…Um, bye," Ness said, getting out from the fancy car with Lucas following suit. They watched her wave at them before speeding on her way. Ness looked too pleased with himself.

"Paula would murder you if she saw that on your face," Lucas said calmly, raising an eyebrow.

"What, you're jealous?" Ness quipped, wiping his cheek with the heel of his palm.

"No way. That was a woman literally double your age, celebrity or not," Lucas said with a shrug as he walked to the hotel.

"Jealous," Ness sang, then he had a dreamy look in his eyes, "But seriously, did you see that car? "I never thought I'd ride a car like that in my life."

"Yes, you said that a dozen times already." Lucas said. Ness didn't stop gushing over Venus' extremely fancy car since the second he saw it.

"Lucas," Ness looked at him as if he questioned his sanity, "It's a supercar. What part of 'supercar' you're not getting?"

"It's an overpriced car, I get it. Can we go in now?"

"Man, you're no fun," Ness said with a pout, following Lucas into the lobby.

* * *

Lucas flopped down on his bed. He felt his head throbbing from the tell-off he had just received.

"Man, Mr. Pirkle can be such a control freak," he groused. Ness chuckled.

"Well, serves us right for being late for the buses, I suppose," Ness replied, flopping down on his own bed.

"But why yell at _me_ and not you?"

"Your idea to go to the theater in the first place."

"Ugh. Would you rather stay at Marcy's and lug Paula's shopping bags around?"

"Good point."

Lucas buried his face in his pillow for a brief moment, before suddenly lifting his head.

"Speaking of which," he said a little loudly.

"Speaking of what?" Ness said, startled by the outburst. Lucas looked at him.

"Do you remember when we got out from the baseball section?"

"Didn't we agree not to talk about it?"

"No. I mean, yes, but..." Lucas lowered his head, "That thing in that yard was _singing_ to me. I heard it," he admitted.

"No way, me too," Ness said. Lucas whipped his head up.

"Huh?" Lucas' eyes went wide.

"I thought I was going crazy. I didn't hear it with my ears, Lucas."

"You heard it with your mind, right?"

"Yes," Ness exclaimed, "Exactly! Then I was like a cat high on catnip before the guard called us out."

Lucas anxiously twirled his fingers, seemingly hesitant about something.

"I..." he began, before taking a deep breath, "I can read minds."

Ness froze, before letting out a nervous chuckle, "Sorry, what?"

"I said, I can read minds," Lucas said, not meeting Ness' eyes, "Ever since I was young, I could hear what people thought or remembered."

"Oh," Ness said, unsure what to make of this piece of information. He chose to deal with it with humor, "Yeah, and I'm the Queen of Winters."

"Ness, this is serious!"

"So, can you tell what I think of right now?"

"Venus' boobs," Lucas said in a deadpan, "Here's the thing, I can't read _your_ mind for some reason. Maybe that singing thing at the store was… Ugh, I know, I sound like a two-bit fake. You know what? Forget what I just said, okay?"

He got up, stepping towards the bathroom. Ness hit his fist to his palm.

"That actually makes sense!" Ness exclaimed, stopping Lucas in his tracks.

"You didn't see Pokey argue with the guard, you heard it in his thoughts, right?" Ness said excitedly, "That's also what happened with the Sharks, right? I saw them run away from you just before you passed out the other day."

"You were following me back then, weren't you?"

Ness blushed.

"I saw you on the way, only," he lied.

"Uh huh, but you're right, yeah."

"Tell you what," Ness said, flashing Lucas a teasing grin, "I think I believe you for now, but you'll have to put your powers to test tomorrow, okay?"

"But we're leaving for Onett first thing in the morning."

"Yes, exactly."

"What are you getting at?"

"Let's just say I have a few ideas up my sleeve. You'll like them, trust me." Ness' grin widened.

* * *

 **A/N: This time, the Author's Note is at the bottom because I have a few small comments on the chapter, first of which is that the landmarks in Fourside are unabashedly ripped off from real-life New York City landmarks (which is fairly easy to tell), and second, the song 'Tzars of Groove' is a dorky-sounding parody of 'Sultans of Swing' by Dire Straits. Good song, check it out if Rock's your thing.**

 **Reviews:**

 ** _invisible-luigi:_**

 **Well, here's the new chapter. Sorry I posted it a little late, though. Hope you like it. :)**

 ** _Connor the speling pro:_**

 **Aah, I was half a step too slow. Sorry. XD I blame getting distracted on getting distracted for four hours watching back-to-back football matches. At least the teams I support won 4 - 1 and 4 - 0. :D**

 **Standard deviation is a measure how points generally spread away from the mean, not referring a single point. A standard deviation of zero means there is little if any spread around the mean, making the bell curve look like a unit impulse function. This crap is taught to us in detail during second year with other random processes. Are you taking it in AP courses? XD**

 **Yeah, there's a bit of shifting POVs, I wanted to make it in Ness' point of view for now, but I think I'll shift back to Lucas' for the remainder chapters.**

 **I always imagined big, famous cities as being rife with pretentious folk. Never visited such a city, though, so a huge city like Fourside is entirely based on what I imagine they would be plus pointers from real life metropolises like NYC. :P**

 **The verbal poking was so warranted, but I think I'm guilty of liking to antagonize Pokey a lot. A 'bad guy' and an awfully sore loser, so he lends himself to satisfying defeats. :P**

 ***Silently replaces every two ellipses with three dots before posting***


	11. Chapter 11 - Road to Onett

**Chapter 11 - Road to Onett**

The hotel room went quiet at around 11 PM, after the two boys had packed up and double checked their readiness for tomorrow's ride. Ness fell into a deep sleep mere minutes after lying down and closing his eyes.

For his usually outgoing, brash personality, Ness was a surprisingly calm sleeper; he lied on his back, the only sign of life was his slowly rising and falling chest. To an observer, he looked especially peaceful at the moment.

He was a heavy sleeper too, since he hardly reacted at all to the hand that delicately slid the pillow out from underneath his head, then caressed the side of his face and toyed with the hair above his ear. A thumb slowly traced the outside line on his lips, making him involuntarily purse his mouth, turning his head away from the foreign touch.

A finger poked his forehead. Ness' eyebrows furrowed as he let out a soft whimper.

"Nnnnh, go away," he mumbled indistinctly. The finger tapped his forehead again, but with a little more force this time. Ness cracked open a bleary eye.

Only to see a hooded face looming a foot over his own, flashing him an eerily toothy grin. Bright eyes gleamed in the dark, watching him like a hawk.

Ness almost let out a terrified scream, before he was hastily muffled with a pillow pressed snugly to his face and a heavy body straddled his legs. He thrashed around, pulling at the pillow in a frantic attempt to get free, but whoever was pressing it had an unearthly strong grip. Ness could feel his chest tightening up, his lungs were burning for air. His writhing weakened as he felt his consciousness fade away slowly, before the death hold on his body suddenly disappeared. Ness bolted upright, taking in a sharp gasp of air. His eyes darted about the room, which was vacant save for the dark silhouette of Lucas, who was still asleep with his back turned to him, oblivious to what had just happened. Ness' heart was hammering out of control, adding to the burning in his chest and the shrill ringing in his ears. It took him a minute to realize he was crying, tears momentarily blurred his vision. He hid his face in the crook of his elbow so the sound of him sniffling wouldn't wake up his roommate. It couldn't have been a dream; he uncomfortably swallowed the metallic taste in his mouth, having cut the inside of his lip on his teeth during his struggle under the pillow. An evidence his ordeal wasn't a jarringly realistic nightmare. Ness clenched his teeth, feeling the world around him flip in confused somersaults. Why he couldn't have done something like punch whoever attacked him, or anything better than tugging at the pillow helplessly?

Those eyes. Whoever tried to choke him had those big, almost glowing eyes. The way they stared at him burned in his mind and sent shivers down his spine. He grunted, feeling his head throb painfully. No way he could go back to sleep now.

Ness remained curled on himself, propping his back on the headboard until sunlight began filtering through the blinds.

* * *

When Lucas woke up, he found Ness fully dressed and sitting cross-legged on his bed, albeit looking visibly tired and dispirited.

"Morning," Lucas muttered, rubbing sleep away from his eye and brushing his dishevelled hair out from his face. Ness slowly lifted his head and glanced at Lucas before nodding back. Lucas took note of the dark circles under Ness' eyes. It seemed he had little sleep last night, which made his face look like Lucas' own after a nightmarish night.

"Good morning," Ness replied in a monotone as he stood up on his feet. Lucas arched an eyebrow at the lukewarm reply, but chose not to comment. He got up, gathered his everyday clothes in an arm and dragged his feet towards the bathroom, noting the hidden tension in Ness' stance when he walked by him, as if something invisible was about to lunge at Ness' neck any moment. Lucas stopped, studying Ness intently.

"Are you okay?" Lucas asked, making Ness flinch a little.

"I'm alright," Ness replied, forcing himself to relax. Lucas scratched the side of his head as he turned to the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Minutes later, he emerged, now more presentable. Ness was sitting on the edge of his bed, propping his elbow on his thigh and staring into the distance. Lucas thought Ness looked exactly like Claus when he was in one of his off moods. He slapped a palm to his face at the thought.

 _Guess I won't stop thinking of him as a surrogate Claus, right?_ Lucas thought wryly to himself. Ness' similarity to his twin was at the forefront of his mind throughout yesterday and the day before, and it was possibly the reason why he told Ness about his mind powers last night. Lucas used to share all of his secrets with Claus, so it was particularly satisfying to tell Ness that one big secret that had made his life hell so far.

 _'_ _You aren't doing yourself any favors with that hair, kid'_ , Duster's words echoed in his mind. Perhaps he had been indeed dwelling too much on his brother's memory lately, or at least since he met Ness. His thoughts were soon derailed by the sound of an obnoxious knocking on the door.

"Open up, you two. You better be ready," Mr. Pirkle's annoyed voice reached his ears from the other side. It seemed the teacher was still cross with them over yesterday's bus thing.

"Come on, we should leave," Lucas said, motioning for Ness to get up.

* * *

Ness' weird behavior stuck around when they boarded the bus. This time around, Ness asked for the window seat, saying he had little sleep last night. When Lucas asked him about the 'plans' he had, he waved him off with a half-hearted 'later', then fell asleep the second he leaned his head on the glass. Lucas stared holes in his lap when Pokey climbed into the bus and assumed his seat right behind him. A brief moment later, Poo came up and walked to his assigned row. He crossed his arms at Pokey's seated form.

"Get up or move aside," he curtly told Pokey, who lifted his nose in the air.

"You ain't the boss of me," he replied, shooting Poo a challenging glare. Poo sighed in irritation.

"Get up, or move aside," he repeated, slowly this time, levelling a dangerous glare towards the Minch boy. Lucas watched on with mild interest, secretly hoping that Poo gives that fat fuck another black eye.

"What, do you think you'll—" Pokey started, before he was summarily shoved into the windows seat with a rude foot from Poo, who took the now vacant seat. Pokey yelped in surprise and dusted his abused side, before glowering at Poo.

"Goddamn chink," Pokey spat, venom dripping from his voice.

"Up yours, fatass," Poo shot back with equal venom, causing Lucas to raise his eyebrows, feeling his admiration of the Chommo kid increase tenfold. He glanced back at Poo, giving him an amused grin, much to Pokey's anger.

"Wipe that fucking smirk off your face, or I'll wipe it for ya," Pokey growled at Lucas, who turned around, smirk still in its place. He soon dropped the smirk when he realized he could hear everyone's thoughts despite Ness sitting right next to him. He glanced over to Ness to find him in deep sleep, his head turned upwards and his mouth hanging open slightly. It seemed the mental block in Ness' mind was only there when Ness was awake. With nothing to 'ground' his mind powers as he came to call it, Lucas heaved a sigh, resigning himself to eavesdropping on everyone's thoughts unwillingly. Poo's thoughts were in his native language, with the occasional 'damn fatass' angrily buzzing through. The thoughts of a the aforementioned fat kid were especially worrying.

 _'_ _So God help me, I'll have that cat-eating gook's head on a platter,'_ he heard Pokey think through the cacophonous noise of thoughts. Pokey proceeded to call Poo and by extension, the Dalaamian people every name under the sun, before his thoughts shifted to Lucas.

 _'_ _And then we have that ginger bugger over here. I'm so going to make this filthy Islander eat my shit by the time we reach Onett.'_

The thought was followed by a vivid image of Lucas kneeling down on all fours to…

"Eugh," Lucas cringed in disgust, trying his hardest not to gag. He looked at Ness, who was oblivious to the world around him. How did he really get used to Ness' convenient mental silence that quickly?

"Please wake up," Lucas begged under his breath, the noisy thoughts flooding his brain nearly driving him insane.

* * *

Halfway through the Dusty Dunes Desert, Lucas noticed something off about Ness. He slept with his arms crossed, his right hand tightly gripping his left bicep. His face was troubled, alternating between relaxing and furrowing his eyebrows. Ness' breath was irregular, coming from his nose as his mouth pulled back into a snarl. Ness' fingernails dug painfully into his other arm, drawing blood as they dragged against the skin. Lucas decided to shake Ness awake, placing his hand on Ness' shoulders.

He could see glimpses of Ness' nightmare. Through Ness' vision, he saw a pair of big eyes gazing back at him with ill intent. Those eyes looked vaguely familiar to Lucas, but he ignored it and roughly jerked Ness awake, causing the latter to jump in his seat. Ness stared at Lucas with wide eyes.

"What the fuck?" Ness exclaimed angrily, glaring at Lucas.

"You were shredding yourself to ribbons in your sleep," Lucas said in a level tone. Ness gave him a confused stare before he hissed in pain.

"Ow," he grunted, glancing at his injured arm. His eyes widened at the sight of his injury. He twisted his arm to get a better view of the bruises and welts, "Wuh… How did that happen?"

Lucas shrugged, about to ask him about the nightmare before the passengers heard a loud popping sound as the bus sharply jolted then lurched to a halt.

"What the _fuck_!" Ness yelled again, bracing for support. The students chattered with confused murmurs and exclamations, before the bus driver hopped out, rounding the bus to examine the tires. He came back up and said something about a nail piercing one of the tires.

"Oh no, we're stuck here," a twitchy-looking kid at the front cried out. Mr. Pirkle spoke briefly to the driver before he got up to address the students.

"Everyone, calm down," he said, raising his voice over the students' chatter. They shut up and listened to the man, who wiped his forehead with a handkerchief.

"We've got a busted tire," he began, "Luckily, there is a gas station a few hundred yards away. We need someone to go there and get a repairman to bring a replacement.

"Don't we have a spare tire?" Ness asked. Mr. Pirkle shook his head as no.

"No, we don't," Mr. Pirkle said, then his eyes surveyed the kids, "Now who's gonna be the great kid who'll take one for the team and go to the gas station?"

Everyone averted their eyes from the teacher, obviously more content with sitting in the air-conditioned bus instead of wading through the blistering heat outside. Lucas made the fatal mistake of looking the teacher in the eye.

"Ah, Lucas," Mr. Pirkle exclaimed, flashing him a simper, "You sure like straying away from groups. Why don't you go to the gas station?"

"Me?" Lucas said, pointing to himself, "Why!"

"Come on, Lucas," some random kid said, eliciting few 'Yeah's and cheers.

"Lu-cas! Lu-cas! Lu-cas!' the kids cheered, clapping their hands, much to Lucas' embarrassment. He didn't need mind-reading powers to know they were happy to have him scapegoated for the job instead of them. He stood up, quietly muttering something about everyone onboard being lazy sons of bitches. Ness stood up as well.

"I think I'll tag along as well," he said casually, following Lucas to the bus door. When they got out of the bus, they were blasted in the face with a gust of torrid air. Lucas felt the inside of his nose dry up instantly, the sun above him had the effect of a sledgehammer coming down on the top of his head.

"Are you sure you want to go?" Lucas asked Ness, "You can stay back if you want."

Ness only shrugged, silently leading the way. Lucas blinked, squinting in the glaring sunlight. He followed Ness, who didn't seem too bothered by the heat. The walk to the gas station seemed to be much longer than 'a few hundred yards', as put by Mr. Pirkle. This must be the bald teacher's way of getting back at him for ditching the buses back at Fourside. He looked at a clearing on the side of the road, where three identically-dressed, mustached men stood, each one wearing sombreros that covered their heads and had square signs surrounding their bodies, each side held a different symbol reminiscent of casino slot machines. Lucas paused to gawk at them. One of them lifted his head to look at the two passersby. His beady eyes widened under his wide hat.

"Ay, yo he escuchado de este chico! He visto la noticias de el por donde quiera," he remarked, adjusting the wide sombrero on his head with a hand.

"Si. Es famoso," the second one commented with a bored tone.

"Crees que va a jugar nuestro juego?" the third guy said with a thicker accent, earning a shrug from the first one.

"Quien sabe," replied the first. Lucas wasn't sure why were they standing with weird costumes under the blazing heat. There was a broken slot machine in front of them with a note identifying the trio as the 'Sanchez Brothers', who would pose as the slot machine for one dollar. Lucas did a double take at that. Not the best idea for a business, especially if it entailed standing in the middle of nowhere with little to shield themselves from the sun.

"Why are you guys standing in the sun? You could find a shaded spot or something, right?" Lucas asked. They looked at each other in sudden realization, as if the idea never crossed their minds. The one in the middle took off the sign and chucked it to the ground.

"A la chingada con esto," he grumbled, "Vamonos," The other two mumbled to themselves, mimicking his gesture and throwing away their getup. Lucas watched them leave, utterly confused. Ness watched all of this with absolute apathy. Normally, he would've made a ton of witty remarks by now. Lucas turned to face him.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Lucas asked. Ness rolled his eyes.

"I'm _fine_ ," he snapped, stomping by Lucas.

* * *

 _'_ _I'm fine!'_

 _'_ _What's wrong, Claus?'_

 _'_ _Nothing', Claus said with a pout, crossing his arms and facing away._

 _'_ _You're sulking. Did you get into a fight with Fuel again?'_

 _Claus glared._

 _'_ _Where's mom?' he asked._

 _'_ _At Caroline's bakery. Why— Hey, wait for me!'_

* * *

Lucas lifted his head up to see Ness already ahead, his head bowed down in a sulking posture. Lucas remembered Claus used to run for their mom whenever he was upset. In a way, Claus was more of a mama's boy than Lucas himself. An idea formed in Lucas' head, who ran up to Ness, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey," he started, "I think there's a payphone at the gas station."

Ness furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "So?"

"I think you should call your mom and tell her we'll be late," Lucas said, shrugging, "I guess the tire thing will take an hour at least."

Ness seemed contemplative for a while before nodding, "Okay."

They remained silent until they reached the gas station. Lucas pointed to a row of three pay phones at the far side of the station.

"There's a payphone over there," Lucas said, "I'll talk to the mechanic guy, okay?"

They parted ways, Ness going for the pay phones as Lucas went to the small building that had a sign reading 'Auto Repair' behind the gas pumps. He quickly explained the bus situation to a greasy-armed mechanic who sat there, wearing sooty coveralls that used to be navy blue. The car technician agreed to fix the bus, but on the condition he'd get paid extra for leaving the station. Lucas would've called Mr. Pirkle, but he didn't have the teacher's number nor there was any cellphone coverage in this area. He agreed anyway, and the man asked for the bus model and size, before telling Lucas to wait while he gathered his tools. Lucas got out of the workshop and went to an adjacent convenience store, where he bought a bottle of water and a package of band-aids, then he strolled to the pay phones, where Ness was talking to his mother.

"Yes, mom," Lucas heard Ness say cheerfully, "I love you, too. Say hi to Tracy and King for me. Bye."

Ness hung up then turned around, already in much higher spirits. He was smiling for a change.

"I really needed that call," Ness told Lucas, "Thanks, man."

Lucas only slightly smiled back, pleased his little idea actually worked. They went back to the Auto shop, where the mechanic stuffed a toolbox and a large tire in the back of a ratty-looking pickup truck and motioned for the two boys to hop in. Ness sat at the window while Lucas was uncomfortably wedged in the small space between the driver and Ness, wondering why didn't this truck come with back seats. The ride back to the bus was unsurprisingly fast, yet equally as stifling, since the pickup truck was too dilapidated to have a functioning AC, and it reeked of body odor and dirty fabric. The truck came to a stop behind the stranded bus. The mechanic got out to inspect the tire, letting out an incredulous whistle when he saw it.

"Man, it's totally shredded!" he said, "I'll replace it, but it's better to come to the gas station and check on the rest of the tires. They all look in bad shape."

Ness and Lucas hopped out of the vehicle and climbed back into the bus, wondering why neither the bus driver nor the teacher bothered to get out for the mechanic.

They found out why when they saw the two men barely restraining an enraged Poo from murdering Pokey, who cowered in the back of the bus, defensively holding his arms in front of him while his meaty rear was wedged between two uncomfortable-looking boys. Ness sighed, slapping a palm to his face.

"Dammit. Should've seen this coming," Ness hissed, walking towards Poo, placing a hand on the Dalaamian's arm.

"Come on, Poo," Ness said in a placating tone, "It's not worth it."

"Y-y-yeah," Pokey nodded fervently, eliciting a 'Shut-the-hell-up' glare from Ness, who placed himself in the space between Poo and Pokey. Poo seemed to marginally calm down.

"Mr. Pirkle, the mechanic's here, can you please go see him?" Ness politely said. Mr. Pirkle seemed satisfied with Poo not trying to lunge at Pokey's neck anymore. He turned around and waddled to the bus exit, apparently trusting Ness with keeping the peace. The bus driver hesitantly followed outside. Lucas watched with awe how Ness quickly pacified Poo and told Pokey off. He even made the two reconcile by shaking hands. Pokey winced in pain as he shook Poo's hand, which was crushing his hand with an overly firm handshake. They took their seats, then Ness assumed his seat next to Lucas.

"Lucas, is it okay if I switched seats with Poo for the rest of the ride?" Ness said.

"Why?"

Ness rolled his eyes.

"Because I'm sure Poo will kill Pokey with his bare hands if they sit next to each other much longer, and I know you hate Pokey's guts."

"Everybody hates Pokey's guts."

"Well, I think I can live with sitting next to him."

Lucas thought that Ness was too much of a pacifist. He _did_ want Poo to rough up Pokey, but he could see the logic behind Ness' words. The look in Poo's eyes was murderous.

"Sure," he shrugged, "But first, you need to take care of your arm."

He fished out the water and band-aid pack from a plastic bag he held. He took Ness' arm and quickly dabbed a wet tissue on the wound, then applied an adhesive bandage, ensuring the white pad is aligned. He let go of the arm, scrutinizing his work. At least the band aid was big enough to cover the injury.

"Sorry I don't have anything better to clean it up with, though," Lucas said, lifting his eyes to Ness' own.

"No problem. Thanks, man," he said, his mouth quirked into a smile. Lucas nodded, standing up for Ness to get up and tell Poo they're switching places. Poo agreed quickly, while Pokey flipped him off when he wasn't looking. Ness glared at Pokey, who grumbled and retracted his middle finger. Poo looked startlingly tranquil for someone who nearly blew a gasket a few minutes ago. Lucas thanked his lucky stars the Dalaamian wasn't a chatty person, a trait Lucas was absolutely fine with. He could tell he would get along with Poo just fine, while Ness resigned himself to listening to Pokey's whining speech about 'those damn immigrants' and how much they 'jeopardize true Eaglelander values'. Lucas chose to distract himself with watching Mr. Pirkle and the bus driver squabble with the mechanic over the exorbitant charge he's asking for.

Ness asked he gets dropped off at Paula's house when they reached Twoson, but Mr. Pirkle vehemently declined, stating that he had to see every boy dropped off to his respective bus stop in Onett. "You'll live an extra half an hour," he told him. By the time the bus merged into the road that led to Onett, Ness looked too antsy to jump off the bus. Pokey was oblivious to Ness' irritation, even happily inviting himself over, to which Ness replied back with a definite 'Hell no!'

Lucas almost felt bad for Ness. Almost. _'I can live with sitting next to him'_ , he said. Well, so it seemed. The bus dropped off Ness, Pokey and Lucas at the bus stop serving the northern part of Onett. A fancy-looking car was parked near the bus stop, the driver exited and opened the door for Pokey to pompously carry himself there, then he aimed a sneer to Lucas.

"Ness, ditch that stupid kid and come with me," he said. Ness scratched the back of his head.

"Uh, I'd rather walk. I can't feel my legs after such a long ride," Ness said, wiggling his foot for good measure. A petulant pout drew across Pokey's face.

"But _Ness_ —" he whined.

"Maybe later, Pokey," Ness said calmly with an air of finality. Pokey's pout didn't budge, but he knew Ness won't agree this time. He turned around and stuffed himself in the car, grumbling something to himself. The car sped off towards the hill where the Minch home was located. Ness let out a heavy sigh when the car disappeared from view.

"Ugh, why me," he grumbled, Lucas chuckled.

"I don't know, but Pokey does seem awfully possessive of you," he commented. Ness tiredly rubbed the area between his eyebrows.

"That's because I was his only friend back when we were kids," he commented, "Pokey used to be a the sweetest kid, believe it or not."

Lucas' eyes widened, "You're shitting me."

"I shit you not," Ness replied, laughing, "No, really, he was a really good kid back then, kinda like his little brother, Picky."

"Picky," Lucas repeated in a monotone. Ness shrugged.

"Their mom named them, ask her," he said, before rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "I don't know what made Pokey grow out to be like… _that_ , but I blame his weird parents, and his choice of friends."

"Yeah," Lucas grumbled, remembering the trio of jackasses that accompanied him back at the McKinley's house.

"He's close friends with Frank Fly. That's the Sharks leader, in case you didn't know."

"…Oh." _That kind of friends._

"Mhm, but hey, enough about Pokey," he said, "Are you busy tomorrow afternoon?"

"Uh," Lucas thought for a second, "No. Why?"

"Great. Paula told me her family decided to move away from their old house, and she needs help moving stuff. Wanna come help us?"

"Um, I'm not sure if I should come, since you and Paula…" Lucas said, then trailed off, "…I mean, not to be a third wheel or anyth—"

"Pff. No you're not," Ness interrupted, rolling his eyes, "Tell me, you're coming or what? It's in Twoson, but mom said she'd drive me there."

"Sure. Why not?" Lucas said.

"Good. Meet you after school, eh?"

"Alright."

"Okay. See you then, Luke," Ness said, then turned towards the direction of his house. He half-turned with his arm raised in a wave. Lucas waved back and walked the other way to his own house. He didn't find out why Ness was in such a bad mood this morning, nor why those eyes he'd seen through Ness' dreams were familiar. He yet had to remember someone who had big, green eyes with a demonic glint in them.

 _Tomorrow I'll ask him about that,_ he thought to himself. He shuddered, not blaming it on the weather, but an inexplicable feeling of foreboding gripped him. Tomorrow won't be a good day, his guts told him, and he always believed his guts.

* * *

 **A/N:** **To roughly translate what the Sanchez brothers were saying:**

 **\- Hey, I've heard of this boy. I saw him on the news everywhere.**

 **\- Yes, he's famous.**

 **\- Do you think he'll play our game?**

 **\- Who knows?**

 **\- (When Sanchez #1 leaves) To hell with this. Let's go.**

 **I loosely based their lines on an excerpt from a TV show though, since my knowledge in Spanish is slightly lacking. No idea why I felt the need to include them other than (slightly indecipherable) comic relief, but that was their chief reason of existence in Earthbound and Mother 3 to begin with!**

 **Anyway, Review responses:**

 _ **Connor the speling pro:**_

 **Well, standard deviation (at least of a finite sample/population) is the sum of squared deviations, divided by the population/sample size, all of that is under a square root. Hm, close enough, I'd say. XD** **Ugh, there was a microelectronics professor who had this catchphrase 'It's all middle school stuff'. Guess I totally missed that one time they spoke at length about CMOS circuits and field-effect transistors back in eighth grade. :L**

 **Yeah, you guys have a different football and call The Beautiful Game 'soccer'. It's a fuel for a lot of teasing for Americans abroad. :P**

 **Aaah I got sloppy with formatting! X( I knew that was gonna happen. Yes it is stupid and I feel stupid. At least I fixed it along with some little more polishing I needed to do. I think I got too hasty. Blame the two matches again. XD**

 **Well, you can't spell awkwardness without Ne- *gets shot*** **No but really. I think Venus got away with flirting with Ness like that because she's a hot celebrity. Imagine if it were a much less attractive woman or (even worse) a man hitting on a younger girl. Society's weird like that.**

 **I think Lucas told Ness out of an impulse. He's still a kid, and kids are very prone to making decisions without thinking them through, whether they can read minds or not. As for Ness' ideas... Well, they were thrown out of the window, it seems. I wonder what his ideas were, too. XD (kidding)**

 **invisibile-luigi:**

 **Thanks a lot. :)**

 ** _hellolord307:_ **

**She's none the wiser. What Paula doesn't know won't kill her, right? ;)**

 _ **Guest:**_

 **Thanks. ^^**

 **I'm really happy you like this story. Haha yeah, Venus kinda likes messing with younger kids. I - somewhat - based her personality on her appearance in The Chosen Four comic. It's a hilarious, well-drawn retelling of Earthbound, go check it out if you don't know it already. :)**

 **I agree, it's rather fun to see them in uncomfortable situations. Especially Ness, since he's headstrong and a bit of a mug, too.**

 **Hm. Claus did die under the rubble at the beginning, so I doubt that hoodie boy is Claus. :L**

 **Pokey. XD Yeah, _that_ guy is the butt of everything. And he does set himself up for resounding defeats. :P**

 **I'm looking forward to seeing your stories. I'm sure they'll be great. ^_^ Yeah, get some sleep. Some people have none of that, y'know. :P**

 _ **Ninten64:**_

 **Thank you. :)  
I think I kinda set up this chapter to be about Ness' antics. Guess it'll have to wait. Whoops. XD**

 _ **PSIBoy:**_

 **Nah, I really appreciate criticism, no worries. XD**

 **Ah. I'm not too knowledgeable with armies and their ranks, but I now see why generals wouldn't go for just any military excursion. The pigmask army in this story are slightly more based on the Nazi army, being far more efficient and vicious than the bumbling fools of M3. Perhaps the general was deployed to oversee Tazmily's invasion since it was the only significant human settlement on the islands, making it important enough for a higher-up to personally see it through. *shrugs***

 **Yeah, the plot is rather slow. I just hope it doesn't get too boring with filler chapters.**

 **I know what you mean with dimwittedness. I abhor stupidity as well, but in Ness' case he's smart, but would rather not use his brain. A lot of people are like that, I guess. But he does lend himself to be the butt of many jokes and awkward situations.**

 **Yeah, the hooded person is the current 'person of interest', I guess. He'll get explained in the coming chapter, honest.**

 **As for my other fic, I think you'll find more points of criticism there, since I had basically no experience in writing prior to writing it. XD Again, I don't mind criticism at all, since it actually helps me get better.**

 _ **StickOfTruth:**_

 **Nope, a prequel it isn't. :P**

 **Yeah, I prefer bottom A/N since I usually have a comment or two on the chapter. (Like this one and the one before), but since everyone else place their notes at the beginning, I think it's something of a convention around here. At least having it down here does away with extra taps/scrolls for unconcerned readers.**

 **Tell Ness he's an off switch? Guess that would make Lucas sound like an exploiting jerk. Besides, Lucas already told Ness he can't read his mind. I guess Lucas won't live down telling Ness he actually likes having him around. XD**

 **I guess by the time you've read this chapter you ruled out one of those two suspects at least. You're totally right about Dragos getting confused by two Claus's (...Clauses? Claus'es?) though. I'll explain that next chapter. I think I just needed to give more reason for Ness to hate/fear the hoodie person.**

 **I think Magnet Hill affects PSI users only, since if it affects random people and being near a very public place would make it rather conspicuous. Giant Step exists in this story, so do each one of the 8 sanctuaries obviously, but I don't see all of them would get featured.**

 **This is an Earthbound fanfic, so there has to be references to the game by definition. Although I love putting slight references to the game (and other things). It's a weird thing I do even in everyday speech, quoting famous people, book/movie/game/show lines or references and I duly note those who recognise the reference. Inside jokes are the best jokes. :P**

 **Yeah, Lucas has a heart of gold. It's sad that bad things happen to good people, but it's something that happens all the time in real life and fiction. I think a major factor into why Lucas became friends with Ness is not being able to read his mind. For Lucas, it's like being a normal person for a change.**

 **Pokey should have an entire novel dedicated to him getting served sweet justice. Lucas does hate him a lot, but oh well. XD**

 **Ness is my favourite protagonist in Mother series. (Naturally, since it was the first game I played back when I was a kid). Oh,** **Everyone seemed to be waiting for Ness' plans of mischief. Hopefully nobody is let down with that, but Ness was almost strangled in his sleep! O.O Plans can wait while he recovers from a traumatic experience. I apologize. XD**

 **For someone who likes being pairing-neutral, I _love_ putting in a lot of "interesting" moments. It's kind of a friendly satire of slash pairings. I find them kinda amusing, since there's little sense in a lot of them. I mean, some of them are plain strange: Poo/Jeff? (When did they even talk to each other?) Claus/Ninten? (Ness/Lucas could be justified with Super Smash Bros, but this... Not so much) Or the worst: Claus/Lucas? (SERIOUSLY?) The only reason behind such pairings is 'they look cute together', so that should be expected. :P **

**Aww, I'm really happy you like this story this much. :D**

 **TV Tropes changed my outlook on everything. It's funny how similar a lot of plot devices are. Makes you think of how much of everything is really original. I know I'm not, since I tend to paraphrase a ton of things in my writing. XD (I think I watched a documentary about that, can't remember the name though)**


	12. Chapter 12 - Green-Eyed Creeper

**Chapter 12 - Green-Eyed Creeper**

The next day after school, Lucas stood outside the school gate, propping a foot against the brick fence while scanning the crowd in a bored fashion. He gave a nod once he spotted Ness approaching him and straightened up, dropping his foot to the ground.

"Ready to go?" Lucas said.

"Oh, hello yourself, Luke," Ness replied.

Lucas looked confused for a beat, then he rolled his eyes, walking away from the gate with Ness following behind.

"Wow, such sunny disposition," Ness quipped.

Lucas only glared daggers at Ness, who grinned back.

"Loaded day, huh?" Ness said.

"Yeah, you could say that again."

"Okay. Loaded day, huh?"

Lucas gawked at Ness with furrowed eyebrows and a slightly agape mouth.

"Are you stupid?" he exclaimed in an exasperated tone, facing the road in front of him.

Ness barked a laugh, lightly slapping Lucas on the back.

"Loosen up, dude. You sound as uptight as Paula's dad."

"Am I now?"

"Totally."

"Pff. Where's Paula?"

"Already left before school let out. We're going to my house. Mom will drive us to Twoson from there.

"Right. Are you sure she's okay with driving us there?"

"She said she had to run a few errands in Twoson, so why not hitch a ride?"

A five-minute walk later, they stopped in front of Ness' house. Lucas warily eyed the mansion next door. The Minches were having one of their trademark arguments, their screeching was clearly audible from where he stood. He shot Ness a pitying look.

"You have the worst neighbors," Lucas said, staring at the embodiment of suburban hell that was the Minch residence.

"I learned to deal with it," Ness replied with a shrug, "Come on, let's get in."

He stepped inside his house, with Lucas in tow. They stood in the foyer of a large living room where a big grey dog snoozed on the hardwood floor. Lucas recognized the dog from that time from Meteorite Hill when he saw Ness walking him. He tried guessing the breed, but couldn't. Perhaps the dog was partly an Old Winterish Sheepdog. Ness noticed Lucas' interest in the dog.

"Say hi to King," he said, "He used to be my part-time nanny."

"Nanny?"

"Mm. He's been around since I was born."

Lucas' eyes shot open.

"This dog's fourteen?"

Ness nodded. Lucas wasn't a big expert on dog years, but he was sure fourteen years is a fairly advanced age for a dog. He heard footsteps where a tall blonde woman in a red dress climbed down the stairs with a little girl following behind.

"Hi, mom," Ness greeted. The little girl was going to run to hug her brother before noticing Lucas' presence. She retreated to hide behind her mother and peeked from behind her mother's dress. Lucas waved at her, and she waved back shyly.

"Welcome home, Ness," Ness' mother said, then smiled at Lucas, "Hello, sweetie. You're Lucas, right?"

"Yes," Lucas replied. The sight of a woman in red dress triggered deep-buried memories he didn't wish to reminisce about right now.

"I think I've seen you on the news," she said, "You saved your classmates from dragos at Fourside, right?"

Lucas inwardly groaned. This is becoming a pain. He reluctantly nodded, wondering how come she's not aware her son was one of the classmates in question. He figured what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

During the car ride, Tracy seemed to act more outgoing around Lucas, taking particular interest in his hair.

"Is it true redheads are always grumpy?" she asked with wide eyes.

"No idea," Lucas replied.

"Tracy, quit bothering your brother's friend," Ness' mom chastised.

"I heard bees sting redheads more often," she said, poking Lucas' elbow.

"Oh my god, where do you pick up your facts from?" Ness turned his head back, giving his little sister an annoyed look.

"I think I liked your sister when she was all shy and quiet," Lucas commented.

"Yeah, I like quiet Tracy, too," Ness said, smirking at his sister. Tracy stuck her tongue at her brother, then crossed her arms and stared through the window with a pout.

* * *

A few minutes later, they pulled over in front of a big building with a big movers' truck parked in front of them. Ness thanked his mom and hopped out of the car. Lucas quickly said goodbye and followed Ness out. The two of them stood in front of the nursery. It had a big horizontal banner reading 'Polestar' in all caps on the green shingled roof, and a large front lawn separated from the street by a picket fence. Ness turned and walked towards the building.

"C'mon, Paula and her parents should be there," Ness said, "Paula said her parents asked a kid who works part-time at the nursery for help as well, so I think moving stuff should be a breeze."

"Part-time kid?" Lucas asked, following behind Ness, who snorted.

"Yeah. Mr. Polestar hates my guts, and his wife thinks the 'cute part-timer' would be a 'better boyfriend for sweet, sweet Paula'," Ness said, mimicking a high-pitched whine before his voice dropped to its usual tenor, "But they miss the fact the guy's freaking eighteen years old, or so Paula told me."

"Oh," Lucas said, "Tough break."

"Well," Ness shrugged, before knocking the door, "I'm actually curious to see that guy, just to know what's the big deal is about."

Mr. Polestar opened the door for them after a few moments. He gave Ness an unimpressed look as he toyed with his mustache with a hand.

"Oh, it's you. Hello, Ness," he said in an overly formal tone that barely masked disdain. Ness put on a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Hi, Mr. Polestar," Ness said in the same frigid tone, "May we come in?"

Mr. Polestar was about to make a comment, but he narrowed his eyes and parted the door to let the two boys in.

"Sure, but you're late, young man," the surly-faced man said, "We _already_ have someone helping with moving."

"Aw, really?" Ness said, feigning regret, "Sorry I live next town, sir."

The man grumbled and walked upstairs, saying something about impertinent kids nowadays. Lucas awkwardly watched the passive-aggressive exchange, while Ness stuck his tongue at Mr. Polestar's back.

"I think the guy's name is 'Polestar' only because there is an actual pole stuck up his ass," Ness said, then spotted Paula wrapping a few items in the living room. He smiled and walked over there to greet her. The two chatted for a minute. Ness seemed in better spirits already. However, Ness' pleasant mood died the moment when the 'cute part-timer' Mr and Mrs. Polestar spoke about walked out of a room with a large box in his arms.

It wasn't because the part-timer was actually cute. In fact, he didn't look older than Ness at all, and the huge eyeglasses and maroon turtleneck made him look like a total dweeb. His short hair was red in an exotic contrast with his slightly tan skin, but that wasn't the reason Ness' breath caught.

It was those piercing, bright green eyes the boy had behind those large spectacles. Ness had no doubt those were the very eyes he'd seen twice back in Fourside. The redhead looked him over before he flashed him a smile.

"Oh, hey. You're Ness, right?" the redheaded kid said with a scratchy, boyish voice. This guy's nowhere near eighteen years old. Ness refused to believe it. The scary eyes flickered over to Lucas, then he did a double take. Ness saw those eyes open wide in recognition.

"…Lucas?" the redhead mumbled, setting down the box, "Is that you?"

"Tom Garrickson!" Lucas exclaimed, surprise evident on his face, "Long time no see."

"Of all the people," Garrickson said, walking up to Lucas, "How have you been? What's with the hair?"

Ness confusedly watched the redhead wrap Lucas in a tight hug, then animatedly talk his ear off. How come the two knew each other?

"You guys know each other?" Paula asked, voicing Ness' thought.

"We do." Lucas said, "Ness, this is Tom Garrickson. I knew him back when I lived in Fourside."

"Uh, pleasure to meet you," Ness managed to force out. He hated this Garrickson kid already. Wait, when did Lucas live in Fourside?

"Tell me, have you found a family?" Lucas asked the other redhead. Ness frowned. That's a weird question. What family? Ness realized there was a lot he was missing.

"Nope," Garrickson replied casually, "I aged out of the system. I go to a community college here in Twoson now."

Lucas nodded, "I see."

While the two redheads were catching up, Ness leaned over to Paula.

"Uh, Paula?" he whispered, "Can I see your camera?"

"Why?"

"I… uh, I wanna check out the pics we took in Fourside."

"I think I already asked Tom to put it away in a box," Paula said with a shrug.

Dammit. No way that sneaky bastard wouldn't have deleted any incriminating photos.

"Bummer," he said, plastering a smile on his face, "So, here we are. Tell me, what do you need us to do?"

* * *

Ness rushed into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He yanked a towel from a hanger and furiously sank his teeth into the fabric, pulling at its ends and holding down the urge to scream the top of his head off. He let go of the towel and stared at his flushed face in the mirror.

Tom Garrickson is driving him up the _fucking wall_.

He was only trying to help Paula and her parents with the moving, but that Garrickson kid seemed to have a fucked up fixation on him.

"Hey, let me help," Tom said all the time. He said it when Ness was carrying a stack of chairs to the truck. He would place his hands on top of Ness' hands as he took the chairs from him. It wasn't the last time, since he always found a reason to invade Ness' personal bubble with his grubby little hands all the time.

Garrickson would crack a joke and slap Ness' back or make his hand 'accidentally' brush agains Ness' shoulder or arm. He already started calling him 'Nessie'. Paula found it adorable. Ness wanted to punch Garrickson's little teeth in.

The icing on the damned cake was when Garrickson slapped Ness' rear while he was carrying the flat-panel TV with Lucas, causing him to almost drop the thing, much to Mr. Polestar's rage.

It wasn't flirting; Ness was absolutely sure of it. It's a deliberate effort to make him as uneasy as humanly possible. He had yet to know why Garrickson was doing this.

Yet the touchy-feely kid was capable of creeping Ness out beyond measure.

"It's even more awkward than Venus," Ness miserably told himself, "And it's a guy, too."

What made it worst is that Lucas was totally oblivious to all of it. Ness deflected all of Garrickson's attempts at conversation with frosty one-liners, which Lucas noted after he saw Ness tell the short redhead to leave him alone. How come Lucas cared about that creep?

A soft knock on the door jolted him upright.

 _I swear to God if it's Garrickson I'll skin him alive_ , Ness thought.

"Ness?" Lucas' voice came muffled through the door, "Are you done?"

"Just a sec," Ness called. He flushed the toilet for no reason and slapped some water on his face, then dried it with the towel to hide the bite mark. Damn, he must have bitten hard. He got out of the bathroom to see Lucas standing in front of the door. Lucas raised an eyebrow at Ness.

"Hiding away?" Lucas said.

"No," Ness replied, scanning the hallway around him, "Well, tell you the truth I was running away from Garrickson. Hope he's not around right now."

"You know, you don't have to be mean to him," Lucas said, "He means well."

"I don't like that guy," Ness hissed, "He creeps me out."

Lucas was growing testy. He furrowed his eyebrows, crossed his arms and gave Ness a hurt look.

"Why?"

"I… I don't know. I hate his eyes," Ness said, not willing to let Lucas on Garrickson's creepy advances. That seemed to tick Lucas off for some reason.

"His eyes?" Lucas snapped, "There's nothing wrong with his eyes. You're being unreasonable."

Ness fumed at this.

"Unreasonable? Okay, Mr. Mind Reader. Can you tell me what was he thinking when he almost made me drop the TV?"

"A harmless prank, most likely," Lucas replied, "I admit I wasn't reading his mind at that time, though."

"Right," Ness drawled, "You're just pulling my leg with the mind reading bullcrap, aren't you?"

Lucas looked affronted, "No, I'm not."

"Alright, wise guy," Ness pointed at Paula, who seemed to be searching for something at the other end of the hallway, "What's she thinking of right now?"

Lucas studied Paula with a level gaze for a brief moment, "She's wondering where she misplaced a Mr. Fluff-A-Lot, which she doesn't seem to recall that she placed it in a box already."

Ness' eyes widened, "She told me she threw Mr. Fluff-A-Lot away last year. It was a teddy bear I gave to her ages ago. No way she's still keeping that."

Lucas flashed him a smirk, "And there's no way I would've known about it. Satisfied now?"

"Uh… You could've heard her say it out loud," Ness said reluctantly. He pointed at Mr. Polestar, who was watching the movers' truck, "How about Mr. Polestar?"

"You've seen Tom Garrickson's eyes. I saw your nightmare back in the bus yesterday," Lucas said, ignoring the question.

Ness looked floored.

"How." Ness breathed, "How'd you know?"

"Because I saw it for a moment before I woke you up," Lucas answered, "I doubt you have met him before, but I still don't know what your dream meant."

Ness bit his lip, debating whether he should tell Lucas the whole story.

"I think I _did_ see him before," Ness said, "Remember the person I told you about back at the museum before Paula and I fell to the drago's enclosure?"

Lucas did a double take.

"Nuh-uh," he said incredulously.

"Yeah-huh," Ness replied to the childish remark with another one, "I'm absolutely sure of it."

Just as he said that, Paula poked her head from the doorway.

"Hey," she called, pushing a box with her foot, "Can one of you ladies help with moving things instead of chatting?"

"Coming," Lucas said, rolling his eyes. He picked up a large box she'd just sealed up with tape and carried it outside. Ness felt a someone standing behind him. He turned around to see Garrickson looking up at him with those huge eyes. Ness narrowed his eyes at him.

"What?" Garrickson said with a raised eyebrow. Ness took the chance of being alone with Garrickson and grabbed the redhead by the front of his stupid turtleneck.

"I know it was you," Ness hissed through clenched teeth. Garrickson did not seem fazed in the slightest. He just cocked his head to the side.

"What are you talking about—"

"Don't play cute with me," Ness interrupted, bending so their noses almost touched, " _You_ were the one who tried to kill me in Fourside."

"Kill you. Now why would I do that?" Tom said with two raised eyebrows and a smirk. This wasn't a face of someone who's being accused with attempted murder. Ness tried his hardest not to headbutt that face.

"You didn't answer me," Ness gritted, forcing himself to stare into Garrickson's eyes and ignoring the vague throb in his arm where he scratched himself during his nightmare. Those eyes still struck fear in him.

Said eyes glinted with mischief as Garrickson took a quick breath and blew it into Ness' face. Ness felt the puff of air go straight through his nostrils, stinging his brain.

As if he was touched by a live wire, Ness recoiled back and slapped both hands to his face. Garrickson's breath left a hideous taste on his tongue. _Sheesh, kid could use a fresh mint._

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he yelled, wiping angrily at his face with his forearm, "Gross!"

Garrickson doubled over and broke down in hysterics. His face flushed a red, almost purplish hue.

"Oh my god. That was the best one yet," he managed to get out through his cackling.

 _Is this guy for fucking real?_ Ness thought to himself. He threw his arms in the air and backed away, looking for Paula or Lucas or even Mr. Polestar himself.

This isn't over. He shall get a straight answer from that kid, even if he had to beat him within an inch of his life.

* * *

By sunset, everything in the house was packed into neat boxes. After the last of the aforementioned boxes were placed inside the new house, Ness and Lucas sat down on the front porch stairs with each one of them holding a beverage can in his hand.

"Whew, that was some work," Ness said, wiping his forehead. Lucas tiredly nodded in agreement, then chugged his can in one gulp. Mrs. Polestar walked out from the house and cleared her throat to get the boys' attention. They cranked their necks up at her.

"Ness?" she said, "Can you do me a favor and go to the park for me? I just found out we're out of coffee, and they sell the best grounds in town near the flea market."

Ness dumbly blinked at her. She continued, "I would've asked my husband, but he was complaining of his sore back. I really need coffee for tomorrow morning."

 _Damn geezer didn't lift a finger,_ Ness inwardly screamed. He nodded anyway.

"Sure, Mrs. Polestar," he said as he got up, "Wanna come along, Luke?"

"Why not?" Lucas said, getting up as well. Mrs. Polestar told them the name of the blend she wanted, then they turned around to leave. Tom Garrickson was leaning on the mailbox at the front gate, flashing Ness a grin. Ness swallowed his discomfort.

"Going somewhere, Nessie?" Garrickson said in a quasi-sweet tone, "I know how to get to the coffee shop since Mrs. Polestar asks me to bring her coffee all the time."

"No, you're not—" Ness started, before Lucas elbowed him.

"Sure. Lead the way," Lucas said. Tom happily turned and walked in front of them. Ness gaped at Lucas.

"Are you stupid?" he hissed, repeating Lucas' rhetorical question from earlier today.

"No, you're the one who's being stupid," Lucas hissed back.

They bickered quietly behind Garrickson, who led them towards the infamous Burglin' Park, a big fenced open space littered with stalls, weird-looking folk and few buildings in the corners. The moment they walked in, a guy with dodgy-looking eggs ambushed them. Tom Garrickson dragged Ness and Lucas along, waving away the huckster.

"You won't get through your teen years without at least one egg," the egg peddler said.

"I'll be fine without it, thank you," Tom replied, waving with his hand.

"Okay," the peddler shouted, "But your teen years will be ruined just because you didn't buy an egg."

"I'm almost nineteen. I think I'll wing the remaining year without eggs." Tom called behind his shoulder, flashing that fake grin of his at the peddler. Lucas laughed. He seemed to find the exchange amusing, but Ness begged to differ. Garrickson still rubbed him the wrong way, sweet acting or not. Although he admitted the hucksters here would've eaten them alive if Garrickson wasn't around to wave them off. The three of them strolled through Burglin' Park, ignoring the occasional pusher trying to wheedle them into buying this gizmo or that doodad. Ness was almost certain most of the items on sale must have been stolen, but boy aren't they cheap! They stopped in front of a shop that smelled strongly of coffee. Lucas took a big whiff.

"This coffee place smells like heaven," he said dreamily. Ness gave him an irritated look, before he had a strange thought. It's like the two of them switched personalities since Garrickson wedged his unpleasant self between them. Lucas acted all happy while Ness walked around with a raincloud floating over his head. Ness almost laughed, but he perished the thought. He hurriedly walked in, ordered Mrs. Polestar's blend and walked out with a big package filled with brown coffee grounds. Fastest purchase of his life.

As they walked back through the park, Lucas spotted a group of sketchy men following a terrified-looking Scaraban person towards a shack at the far side of the park.

"Sharks," Lucas said grimly, looking at the shack.

"Here in Twoson?" Ness said, disbelieving, "No way."

"I saw them walk into that shack. I'm sure of it," Lucas said.

"How about we check it out?" Tom suggested. For once, Ness agreed with him.

The three of them snuck behind the seedy shack and took a peek through a dirty, broken window. They saw the Scaraban frantically rummaging through the piles of junk inside the shack, while one of the thugs took a drag from a cigarette and urged the man to hurry up. Ness' eyes widened when he recognized him. The suit, sunglasses, spiky blond hair and gapped front teeth were unmistakable.

"Dude, that's Frank Fly," Ness whispered, "That's the Sharks leader standing in the middle."

"If that's true, then this must be something big," Lucas whispered back, "I… I don't think we should stay here."

"Agreed," Garrickson hissed.

They froze when they saw the Scaraban clear out a table, placing some open nondescript cardboard boxes on it. Most of the boxes contained plastic bags filled with white powder, green bundles of what looked like grass, and various pills. The rest of the boxes were flowing with hundred-dollar bills. The second the Scaraban finished, one of Frank's goons walked up to the Scaraban and rendered him unconscious with a single punch while the others sealed up the boxes with cling film. The three boys gasped, causing the men to look up towards the window.

"Dammit, they saw us!" Ness swore under his breath.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm usually okay with subzero temperatures, but when your car breaks down at night in the middle of nowhere, the cold weather loses its appeal fast. I wrote half of this chapter on the phone while waiting for a tow truck. ._.**

 **Aaaanyway, on with the reviews:**

 _ **Connor the speling pro:**_

 **You should totally tell your teacher he's wrong. I used to argue with my high school teachers all the time - If I were you I would have totally disrupted the class with an angry tirade over the incorrect definition. XD**

 **FIFA scandals are shameful indeed. Hardly anybody of their higher-ups has any integrity to speak of. :/ I had no idea the term 'soccer' originated in Britain, considering how much they loathe that word.**

 **Well, the dark figure still makes no sense yet, doesn't it? At least his identity is somewhat known, but we still need a motive. I think the story's a little slow with the plot, no?**

 **Considering the two first-generation immigrants in front of him, it is pertinent indeed. XD As for Ness' homesickness, it's really annoying in-game when it hits him while being a dungeon and a half away from the nearest phone. No wonder why it's so frequently mentioned. :P**

 _ **Guest:**_

 **Hello :P**

 **You found a GBA cartridge with a translated Mother 3 on it? Lucky! Well, I actually like Ness more since he's more nostalgic (I first played EB 13 years ago and didn't get to play Earthbound Beginnings or Mother 3 until sometime last year)**

 **I occasionally play Super Smash Bros if I plug in my old Wii (According to stats, Ness is played 59% of the time and Lucas gets 24%)** **I don't like Lucas in that game because they portrayed him as a really irritating wimp. They gave him a more confident attitude in SSB4, but I don't know... The damage has been done already. Personally, I believe he has more guts than most people give him credit for.**

 **Heh, a Thanksgiving-esque break is so needed here. I need a break from exams or my head will burst. Thanks again, and have a belated good night. XD**

 _ **PSIBoy:**_

 **I'm fine with criticism especially when it makes sense, and your point makes a lot of sense indeed. And you totally don't have to review every chapter. While it's nice to read feedback, nobody's obliged to leave review unless they feel like voicing their mind.**

 **Human history is _basically_ warfare, I suppose. Name a civilization that went for half a century without at least a skirmish. xD**

 **I'd lean more on him wanting to torture Ness for some reason. Deuteragonists can't die easily. :P**

 **Yeah, I can relate. I hate incompetency in particular, since stupidity can come in handy at times, no?**

 **Pokey is the kind of person to bring the worst in everyone, isn't he? I agree, he's likely to get a lot of trouble with his big, fat mouth.**

 **Thanks. Have a nice day/night as well. :)**

 _ **StickOfTruth:**_

 **Poo received a present... Inside there was a Box of Chocolate. Poo took the Box of Chocolate and ate it. Poo recovered 1 HP. :P**

 **Somehow, I think Pokey is merely parroting remarks he hears from his dad or something, not that he actually knows what he says. Ness has to keep the peace or there shall be blood. A lot of it.**

 **Well, there yet needs to be a motive for the dragos and hotel room. Sorry I didn't include it YET.**

 **Yeah, Lucas is starting to act more, um, pleasant since he'd met Ness, don't you think? The mind-block thing should make itself known one day, true. Lucas seems to believe Ness about the hooded person, but apparently has second thoughts over the identity.**

 **Well, I don't suppose Lucas would go to the sanctuaries to 'harness the power of the earth' and 'thwart a cosmic terror' or this will sound like a boring twist on Earthbound's story. As for the eight sanctuaries being obvious, you're absolutely right. I shouldn't assume. XD**

 **To date, nobody gets my references, which is funny in its own way. Not to sound hipster-ish, but understandable humour is so mainstream.**

 **Salsa/Fassad? *Screams in terror* That's the most messed up Stockholm syndrome-induced pairing ever. (Besides, doesn't Salsa have a girlfriend and he's only working with Fassad to rescue her? Uhh...)** **I agree, AUs FTW, but only when characters are true to their characters. For example, some fanfic I've read depicted Ninten as a nerd, which is pretty OOC for Ninten. I mean, a nerdy Ninten? Uh, wot?**

 **Good writing, consistent characterization, and compatibility. I can't emphasise enough on compatibility! I mean, even Shakespearean-grade writing won't save a Porky/Paula fanfic for example. The idea itself is too much. Same thing for Claus/Lucas. It's an insult to the characters at best.**

 **Yeah. Magypsies aren't pairing material at all. I don't think anyone ships Magypsies... Right? I wouldn't be surprised, since I've just seen someone try to ship two fanfic authors together a while ago. *Shrugs***


	13. Chapter 13 - Cold, Hard Revenge

**Chapter 13 - Cold, Hard Revenge**

 **Earlier today**

Seeing Tom Garrickson again was a pleasant surprise for Lucas. The past few years still barely made the small redhead look Lucas' age, which wasn't surprising considering his looks back at the orphanage. Lucas' days there weren't nostalgic in the slightest, but Tom Garrickson was one of the few faces he fondly remembered.

It was a pleasant surprise to Lucas, but Ness seemed to think otherwise. He bristled whenever Tom Garrickson was in the same room, and he turned down every attempt at conversation with hostile remarks. It was odd, but Lucas chose not to comment on it. When he caught Ness hiding in the bathroom, he questioned why Ness acted that way. Ness answered that he didn't like Tom Garrickson's eyes.

 _'Because he's a freak. I mean, have you seen those freaky eyes of his? Even the nuns don't like him that much.'_

Trent used to hate Tom Garrickson for his eyes too. Lucas chastised Ness, then he recalled the nightmare Ness had on the bus.

Ness hated his eyes because of that dream. He said he was fairly certain Tom Garrickson was the one who caused the balcony railing to collapse back at the museum, much to Lucas' surprise.

When he read Tom Garrickson's mind, he didn't find any memory of being in Fourside in the last few days.

 _'I saw him disappear just like that.'_

Yet Ness said whoever did it vanished away. Speaking of which, when he found the redhead alone while they were moving. He brought up the topic, asking him whether he could also teleport too.

"I knew you would ask eventually," Tom Garrickson smirked, "And no, I can't teleport whenever I want."

"How come?"

"I don't know. Your ability is voluntary, mine isn't. Though it seems to take quite a toll on your mind," he said, then he was silent for a moment, "There is a way to make it easier. More efficient, if you will."

Lucas gave him a questioning look.

"I'm not going to tell you the exact details, but I suggest you look around Onett for a place called Giant Step. It's somewhere up the hills to the north."

"Giant Step?"

"Yes, Giant Step," he said, taking off his glasses and rubbing the round lenses with the hem of his turtleneck. He lifted his head to look at Lucas with his big eyes, "I suggest you talk Nessie into coming with you as well."

"Why?"

"I have a hunch he'd be quite helpful," he replied with a wink.

* * *

Frank took out a knife from his jacket and scrambled to the door. The other gangsters drew their switchblades too, the glint of sharp metal jarring Lucas back into reality. He had to act fast, and immediately. He sidestepped away from the window, pulling Ness and Tom Garrickson away from the shack.

"This better work," he mumbled. He grabbed Ness' hand and Tom Garrickson's arm and concentrated hard as he ran, conjuring up what he could remember of Paula's house. A vivid image of the front porch came to his mind.

"Teleport," he hissed, but instead of warping away, he felt something in his head snap painfully. He fell on a knee, clutching his temple with a hand and resisting the urge to scream.

"Lucas!" Ness cried out.

"I… I can't," he rasped.

"Are you alright?" Tom Garrickson said and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

Lucas got up and willed himself to concentrate again, trying to ignore the flares of pain in his head. From the corner of his eye, he saw silhouettes of the gangsters who already reached behind the shack. He clutched Ness' hand tighter and reached for Tom Garrickson's, but his hand clasped around air instead.

"Teleport!" he exclaimed. This time, he felt an invisible meat cleaver lodge itself inside his skull, before everything disappeared from view.

When he opened his eyes, he was standing in front of the Polestar house. Ness stood next to him, queasy and disoriented. They swayed like drunkards, before Ness shook his head rapidly and steadied himself. Lucas held on Ness for support, his head felt like an overripe melon about to burst open. He lifted a finger to his face. Good, there was no blood this time.

"How… How the hell did we end up here?" Ness said incredulously. His voice was too loud in Lucas' ears.

"Psychic teleporting," Lucas managed to grunt. He wasn't sure what to call it, but he figured Tom Garrickson would have a better name, "Right, Tom Garrickson?"

He turned around to see that nobody was standing around, save for Ness.

"T-Tom Garrickson?" Lucas said quietly, looking around him.

"Where is he?" Ness noticed the absence of the redhead, "He did run away with us, right?"

A horrible thought crossed Lucas' strained mind. His heart sank to his feet.

"No!" he breathed, "We didn't leave him behind, did we?"

Lucas scrambled towards the street, but Ness pulled him back by the arm.

"Hold it," Ness said, "Where are you going?"

"I left him behind," Lucas yelled frantically, "I left him behind!"

 _'Don't leave me to die!'_

It took them twenty minutes to arrive back at Burglin' Park, even when the two of them ran all the way there. The peddling folk shot the two bos confused looks when they dashed across the open area towards the shack at the far side of the park.

The place was ominously quiet, save for their heavy breathing.

No sign of the Sharks, or Tom Garrickson. Lucas gulped and walked around the shack, Ness hesitantly followed behind. It was already getting dark, and they were struggling to make out their surroundings, let alone find some missing redhead. Ness' feet caught against something on the ground, causing him to stumble and land on all fours. Lucas picked Ness up and looked down to see what did Ness stumble on.

Or more like, _who_.

Tom Garrickson lied there on his stomach, a small pool of blood pooled around his head from a long gash on his head next to his ear. His left arm was bent in an unnatural position at the elbow, and his face was bruised and bloodied. He was too still. The sinking feeling in Lucas' chest came back in full swing.

"Is… Is he dead?" Ness whispered, crouching down to examine the redhead's injuries.

* * *

"He'll recover, but I guess some of his wounds will probably leave scars," a middle-aged doctor told them. Tom Garrickson laid on a hospital bed, multiple tubes and wires went in and out from his arms and head. A transparent tube ran across his bandaged face, thickening just at the nose.

Without the piercing eyes, he looked just like any other kid, Ness thought, before the doctors told them to leave. Ness and Lucas weren't allowed to stay too long, since they weren't 'next of kin' as the hospital put it.

"He doesn't _have_ any next of kin," Lucas shrieked at the hospital staff, but they stood their ground and threatened to kick Lucas out if he kept causing a scene. Lucas was steaming, before he stomped out of the building. Ness followed before the Tazmilite killed something with his bare hands.

"Listen, it wasn't your fault," Ness said, trying to placate Lucas. Lucas lifted his eyes at him.

"It wasn't my fault?" he said bitterly, "I left him there, Ness. I left him to face thugs alone. If only I didn't see them. They could've killed him, you know. They… They could have…"

He trailed off, then he raised his head up and took a deep breath, "I'm going to make them regret this," he said through tightly-clenched teeth.

Ness didn't like the way Lucas said that at all.

* * *

The following day after the last class in school, Lucas saw Pokey trotting down the hallway. Ness stood next to Lucas, chatting with another kid about some upcoming baseball match, but Lucas wasn't listening to their conversation. He was interested in what Pokey thought at that moment.

 _'Today, it's lunch with Franky. He said he had good news. I hope he finally makes me his right-hand man.'_

That thought buzzed through Lucas' mind. He was almost certain who this 'Franky' was. He stood in Pokey's path, furrowing his eyebrows and crossing his arms. Pokey noticed Lucas standing in his way. He stopped when he saw Lucas staring looking him in the eye.

Pokey stared back at Lucas back with disdain, "What do you want?"

"You," Lucas hissed, "Where is Frank Fly?"

"The hell does that matter to you?" Pokey said, squinting. He flinched when Lucas advanced towards him, palpable anger exuding from his face. Ness dropped his chat and eyed Lucas' confrontation with his neighbor.

"T-that doesn't concern you," Pokey stammered. Lucas jumped at him and grabbed him by the neck with both of his hands. Ness would've laughed at how a reedy kid like Lucas shook Pokey like a rag doll at the moment, but he needed to stop this before Lucas got himself into real trouble.

"Where is he, you fat swine?" Lucas screamed, shaking Pokey.

"Easy, there," Ness grabbed Lucas by the back of his shirt and reigned him in before he ripped out Pokey's throat. Ness glared at Pokey, who managed to extricate himself from Lucas' chokehold.

"I'll deal with him. Leave, Pokey," he said, tugging Lucas backwards. Pokey did not need to be told twice. He scampered away from sight, causing Lucas to insanely thrash against Ness' grip. A few students stopped to gawk at the scene.

"Let me go!" he yelled. Ness swept a leg behind Lucas' knees, causing the taller boy to buckle onto the ground. Ness pinned him down by the neck.

"Do I need to punch you back to your senses?" Ness hissed, "Because believe me, I'll be more than happy to do so."

Lucas stared back with livid eyes for a few seconds, before all his rage left him at once, leaving him utterly drained. He quickly transitioned from hopping mad to being on the verge of tears. Ness helped him up and waited for him to calm down.

"Frank usually hangs out with his toadies at a fast food joint near the arcade," Ness said quietly then shrugged, "Well, that's usually where Pokey goes to meet him."

"And you're telling me this now?" Lucas muttered. Ness crossed his arms.

"I would've told you where Frank goes if you asked," Ness replied, "But I was too busy keeping you from murdering Pokey."

"How come his hangout place is public knowledge?"

"Every policeman in town knows about it, but they won't lift a finger to deal with him. It's not something they can solve with roadblocks, you know."

Lucas stood stiffly. He reached for his pocket and pulled out a switchblade. Ness recognized it as the one the Sharks thugs dropped when they tried mugging Lucas that day.

"Ness?" Lucas said, looking at the folded switchblade in his hand, "Are you sure Pokey usually hangs out with Frank Fly at that restaurant?"

"Yeah, most of the time. Why?" Ness replied. Lucas returned the switchblade to his pocket and dashed down the schoolyard towards the street. Ness stood in his place for a second before running after the other boy.

"Oi, hold on!"

* * *

Ness stopped at the opposite side from the Jimmy Rickets' Diner in south Onett, panting hard. He spotted Frank Fly, the knife-brandishing 19-year old leader of the Sharks gang with a bunch of his lackeys parading him down the street. Pokey was among them too, walking behind Frank with a revoltingly ingratiating smile. Lucas stood next to Ness, eyeing Frank and his goons as they waltzed in.

"What," Ness said, panting hard for breath, "Are you doing, Lucas?"

Lucas fixed the building with an indecipherable stare for a long while. He crossed the street and disappeared into the restaurant. Ness cursed loudly and ran behind Lucas. The crowded, neon-lit fast food joint smelled of greasy junk food and frying oil, and multiple tables were occupied by loud teenagers. The booth at the back where Frank and his three cronies sat was especially boisterous, with Frank cracking jokes about girls while digging into a burger. Ness saw Lucas purposefully walk up to Frank's table. He picked a bottle of ketchup right off the hand of a hapless diner and unscrewed its plastic cap. Ness' jaw dropped as he watched Lucas emptying the contents of the bottle over Franky's head, whose face held a look of ultimate shock.

The whole restaurant went deathly silent.

Frank took off his sunglasses and jumped out of his seat, his mouth was full of food and the hamburger was still in his hand, and his upper half was completely drenched with tomato sauce.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" he screamed at the top of his lungs, throwing his sandwich to the floor. At his full height, Frank stood half a head taller than Lucas and his hands were the size of the Tazmilite's head. A single punch would cause Lucas' face to cave inside his brain, but the 13-year old looked fairly collected. The gang leader grabbed Lucas by the neck, a murderous look gleamed in his narrow, little eyes.

"You got a death wish, motherfucker?" he shouted again, bits of food flying into Lucas' face, who calmly wiped it off and looked Frank in the eye.

"I challenge you, Frank Fly," he said, "You will have to pay for hurting someone I care about."

Frank looked shell-shocked. His thugs mirrored the surprised expression.

"Challenge me? You gone mad, kid?"

"On the contrary. I have insulted you in front of your men in public, so you should accept to save your pride."

"The hell you're talking about?" He said, then looked back at his cronies and barked a scornful laugh, "Guys, the kiddo is challenging me to a fight!"

"Hoo!" a Sharks gangster hooted.

"Kill him, Franky!" Pokey exclaimed.

* * *

 _"Fellas, he dared to punch me. That little piece of shit had the face to punch the Great Pokey Minch!"_

* * *

"What are your terms?" Franky said, sitting down and drying off his head with a towel, "You wanna fight with knives or just fists? You know I can fuck you up in a brawl."

Lucas smirked, crossing his arms.

"You're definitely right at that. I propose a fair way to fight, which will only need guts."

"I'd still destroy you any day."

Lucas' smirk deepened as if Frank told a funny joke.

"Meet me tomorrow midnight at the school chemistry lab," Lucas said in a level tone, "Each one of us shall only bring his most trusted man."

Ness watched all of that with wide eyes. Lucas turned around and walked out of the diner, grabbing Ness by the arm, a look of pure loathing tightened his face. Ness wondered how Lucas could drench Frank in ketchup and manage to get off scot-free, but perhaps it was because Frank wasn't about to commit murder in broad daylight.

"I hate that guy," Lucas muttered quietly, "He's got dead eyes. Arrogant and cold-blooded. I am going to destroy that thug."

He stopped and sharply turned to Ness.

"I got a good plan, but I need your help," he said grimly, his piercing eyes boring into Ness', "I trust you, but I want you to do exactly as I say, no matter what."

"Okay?" Ness said unsurely. Lucas seemed satisfied with the reply, a devilish grin creeping up his face. Had Ness seen Lucas' face at the McKinley's a year ago when he agreed to help them, Ness would've said he had the very same expression.

Ness silently stared at Lucas as he was dragged along. The Machiavellian look in Lucas' eyes compelled him into following behind wordlessly.

* * *

The school was dark. The sneaking boys dared not turn on the lights, but flashlights did the job just fine. Lucas stood in front of Frank, who brought Pokey as his man, while Ness stood behind Lucas. Both Ness and Pokey held flashlights. Frank plastered a confident smirk on his face, but Lucas tapped into the gang leader's thoughts.

 _'God, what am I doing here? This place is creepy as hell at night.'_

"As I said yesterday," Lucas began, "The only even way for us to fight is by depending on courage and luck. The only way to gauge a man's worthiness is courage. Back in Fourside, they called luck divine providence."

"Get to the point already," Pokey said, tapping his foot impatiently while staring around him.

 _'It'll be hell if anyone catches wind of this. I should've stayed home, but Franky insisted he meets Lucas' challenge. This islander is fucking demented, and what the hell is Ness doing, hanging out with him, too?'_

Lucas furrowed his eyebrows, not appreciating hearing Pokey's thoughts.

"What will we do is a test of both courage and luck," he said, then turned to his own trusted man, "Ness, can you bring the bottles please?"

Ness brought up two flasks filled halfway with clear liquid. They glinted ominously under the flashlights.

"We shall play a game of who drinks the poisoned flask," Lucas said, "One of those flasks is filled with water, and the other has a high concentration of Carbaryl, a deadly insecticide. Each one of us will drink his flask at the same time in front of his man, and the luckless one of us shall die."

Pokey let out a terrified squeak, tugging on Frank's sleeve.

"Are you crazy? Those clowns actually think we'll take part in this shit? Come on, Franky, let's blow this joint."

Frank looked torn between accepting the challenge or leaving. Lucas cursed Pokey in his thoughts, before forcing a nonchalant shrug.

"Oh well," he said, "This is where courage comes into play. If you walk away, you will be judged as a spineless coward who walked away from a dare."

"What about the cops? If one of us dies, there will be an investigation."

"Oh please," Lucas scoffed, "Teenagers commit suicide all the time, and I think you of all people know Onett police can't do shit. They'll just say whoever died here snuck into the lab to chug insecticide, while the rest of us will keep quiet."

Pokey shook his head, tugging harder on Frank's arm.

"This is madness," he shouted, "Come on, Franky. Leave it."

 _Goddamn it, since when Pokey was the sensible one?_ Lucas thought irritatedly, but he hid it behind a shrug, placing a hand in his pocket.

"Sure, whatever. If I were you, I wouldn't really bother with a stupid Islander and his crazy game," he said, then gave Pokey a brief sideways look before continuing, "You'll go back home safe and sound, but every soul in Onett will find out about our little encounter."

Had Frank been a few years older, he would've convinced himself to walk away from this, but his sense of pride and compulsive, reckless nature were sure to cloud his better judgement. Lucas was betting on that.

 _'Bastard! He's got me by the balls.'_

That was Frank's thought as he narrowed his eyes at the flasks.

"How would I know you didn't somehow mark the safe one or something?" he asked, still staring at the flasks.

"As you can see, they are identical in size and shape. Besides, I was planning on having you picking your flask first, anyway."

"Maybe he'd somehow talk you into picking the spiked one!" Pokey yelled for the third time.

"Don't be ridiculous, Minch," Frank replied, then took a deep breath, "Fine. Heh, I'll play along just to let you know Fail-Proof Frank can't be beaten."

"That's good spirit," Lucas said warily, "At least I'll admit you're a brave man with guts."

"Hold on," Pokey said in a deflated voice, "Insecticide has an unmistakable smell. You can smell it and immediately stop."

"Good point," Lucas gritted through clenched teeth, not bothering with hiding his irritation this time, "That's why each one of us is going to stuff cotton in his nose before he opens his flask."

He swallowed, observing the sheen of cold sweat on Frank's forehead and taking in the perturbed thoughts that swirled behind it.

"Let me tell you what awaits the victim," Lucas said with a deliberate tone, "It starts with profuse sweating, involuntary tears, chest tightness and contracted pupils. Followed with excruciatingly painful muscle spasms, vomiting and diarrhea. It would be a very, very slow death."

Frank's face tightened in discomfort, reaching to pick a flask.

"Keep your information to yourself. Shall we begin?"

 _'Should I pick this one? No no no no no, it looks downright evil. I'll be damned if it ain't that one. Wait. This one has dry water droplets on it. The poisonous one must have been filled carefully with a funnel, and the harmless flask must have been filled carelessly from the tap. Heh, that's good fuckin' thinking, Frank.'_

Frank picked the flask with the wet surface, smiling confidently. Lucas picked up the other one in silence.

Ness got out a few scraps of cotton and stuck two pieces in each of Lucas and Frank's nostrils. In front of Pokey's dismayed eyes, Ness gave each one an unsure look, before holding up a hand.

"On the count of three," he announced shakily, "Drink."

* * *

A heavy moment passed after the two had downed the contents of their respective flasks. Frank stood confidently, eyeing Lucas with arrogance, while Lucas stared back with a completely neutral face. Who will clutch his stomach and die now?

A few silent minutes passed.

"I knew you would notice the dry drops on the poisoned flask," Lucas said, staring at Frank with eerie, almost-glowing eyes, "I did that on purpose."

 _'He's… He's kidding, isn't he? He must be trying to get on my nerves with a stupid prank. Wait, why am I sweating so hard? I… I think I'm gonna hu-u-uuuuurl…'_

Franky dropped on his knees and violently emptied the content of his stomach. Lucas stood over him and crossed his arms.

"Thank you for being so brave, Frank Fly," Lucas said, impassively looking at the suffering gangster, "As you succumb to your death, I want you to remember and regret every scar and broken bone you and your men inflicted on Tom Garrickson back at Burglin Park."

Lucas let out a pitiless laugh as Frank curled and heaved. A trail of something trickled down Frank's pants. The stench gave away its nature easily. Lucas nodded to Ness, who mechanically handed him a camera while staring at Frank with terrified eyes. Lucas snapped a few photos.

 _'They're taking pictures of me dying! How can he be so callous!'_ Frank thought. He wheezed and gasped, clawing at his constricting neck and chest.

Pokey screamed in panic and ran to the door.

"HELP! HE'S DYING, SOMEBODY CALL 911!" he howled at the top of his lungs. Lucas hurriedly stuffed the flashlights and his belongings in his bag and hoisted it on a shoulder.

"Eaglelanders are sore losers," Lucas muttered after Pokey had run away, "I would love to hang around and watch you wither away, but Pokey broke our agreement to keep quiet. I think you're going to leave this world on your own, Frank."

He crouched and picked Frank's sunglasses from the top of his head, flashing him one last smile, "See you in hell."

"N-no! Don't go! I —" Frank's distressed shouting was interrupted by another wave of heaving. The lab floor now sported a sizeable pool of vomit and excrement. Frank fell in his puddle, his fading eyes watched Lucas snap a last photo of him before the world became dark.

* * *

Once they were outside school building, Ness grabbed Lucas by the shoulders and pinned him against the wall. He had a look of pure fear on his face.

"What did you do?" Ness hissed with wide eyes as he shook Lucas, "I only put fucking soda water in the flasks. When did you slip poison in one of them?"

Lucas smiled at him.

"I didn't. Frank and I just had exactly 200 milliliters of the same boring, flat soda."

"Then how come he died? What are we gonna do now!" Ness almost screamed. Lucas' smile broke into an airy laugh.

"Died? Ah, he's not dead, Ness," he said, shaking his head before giving Ness a sly look, "I planted it all in his head. I _made_ him believe he drank poison. It was too easy to bring out pain and the urge to vomit and soil himself. I taught Frank a lesson he won't forget as long as he lives."

Ness let go of Lucas and took a step back.

"That's part of your mental, uhh, abilities. Right?"

Lucas gave a slow nod, "I can place thoughts inside heads if I concentrated hard enough. How else I managed to convince him to take up this dumb gamble?"

"What happens now?" Ness asked.

"I can't wait to see the reaction of everyone once they catch wind of Frank's little story."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it," Lucas said, toying with the sunglasses and stuffing them in his pocket, "A well-feared gang leader sneaks into some school lab to drink soda, then craps himself while screaming at the top of his lungs for help. I know the hospital will pump Frank's stomach and find only soda, if any was left after throwing up so much. I think it will be a very amusing topic to chat about tomorrow, especially if he said something about some school kids trying to poison him."

"That's a terrible thing to say," Ness said, a little horrified.

"Maybe?" Lucas said with a shrug, "I did the town a favor by putting Frank in his place. Besides, I was fair and didn't kill him. Even though he deserves to die twice."

"All of this just because he put that kid in hospital?" Ness asked, Lucas' posture tensed. He bowed his neck to gaze at the ground in front of him.

"He didn't just 'put him in hospital'," Lucas said darkly, "He left Tom Garrickson for dead."

Ness wasn't sure what to say to that.

"You know," Lucas said, lifting his head to look into Ness' eyes, "Tom Garrickson was the only person I cared about back at the orphanage in Fourside. I had few people to care for, so I would stop at nothing to avenge them if they were hurt."

He averted his eyes from Ness. "I would've done the same thing if it was you who got hospitalized," he mumbled.

Ness snickered. He could've totally grilled Lucas for saying something sappy like that, but he placed an arm behind Lucas' shoulders instead.

"Come on," he chimed, "Let's go home, shall we?"

* * *

 **I wrote this chapter from the ending first, so if you guys notice anything which doesn't follow or make sense where I most likely got sloppy with proofreading, let me know. x)**

 **Review responses:**

 _ **Ender2142:**_

 **Welcome to the club. XD**

 **Yeah, Tom apparently took a level up in Weirdo since he last showed up, right? :P**

 **Wait, PK Freeze? I thought you were going to mention that insanely overpowered up-smash. That's why it's never a good idea to dogpile Lucas in that game. I can't land a PK Freeze with Lucas. Most of the time, I mean.**

 **Lucas does have a past with Tom Garrickson, having grown up together in the same orphanage.**

 **Congratulations on your first story. :D Hope you post again soon. I'll be following it.**

 _ **StickofTruth:**_

 **Yes! "Lecherous" was the word I was looking for to describe him. XD**

 **Uh huh, the Sharks are a menace, but it's almost funny how I turned a gang of little delinquent kids into an actual criminal group. A gang of kids with hula-hoops and skateboards for weapons, dressed in all-black and sporting shark fin hairdos is the epitome of ridiculous, but okay.**

 **Yep. Pokey's in cahoots with Franky. Wouldn't know what ticks inside his chubby head that makes him think befriending the local gangsters a good idea. An attempt to pull attention to himself, perhaps?**

 **I kinda thought of that personality switch halfway while drafting that chapter. I initially planned on making Tom be a sickeningly sweet kid like he was a few chapters back but with a few scary shows to Ness, but I scrapped the idea and made him a blatantly 'lecherous bastard'. I don't know, that description is just too good. XD**

 **You'll never see a dad who likes his daughter's boyfriend. Especially if said boyfriend happens to be a loud, foul-mouthed kid from next town. I kinda like to paint Paula's dad as being conservative and overly fussy. Makes it all the funnier to take the piss out of him.**

 **Police incompetency is a general theme in Earthbound. Onett has good-for-nothing cops, Twoson has kidnappings and a sprawling flea market that seems to be rife with petty thefts and crimes, Threed is just a graveyard, and Fourside's cops jump you. No surprise law enforcement take a backstage role here as well.**

 **Huh. I never imagined Claus would have green eyes, really. It's fairly rare for twins to have different hair colours. Not sure if it even happens at all, let alone different eye colours. I think the whole green-eyed Claus thing stems from the small cutscene at the time-frozen vines, where the Masked Man's eyes flashed green behind his helmet before he literally jumped the party.**

 **Poo not recovering HP from conventional food was a bit of a pain during Earthbound. I had to stockpile water bottles for him to restore PP and make him cast PSI Lifeup. Worst game mechanic ever? Hardly, but really inconvenient.**

 **That mental image. Haha it's not the proudest creative moment, I assure you. XD**

 **Yeah, since why would Garrickson genuinely flirt with a 14-year old? I mean, at his age he'd get arrested or something. :P** **I think I'll leave the motives for a later day, but this isn't the last of his appearances, anyway. I agree that a sanctuary hunt is the last thing we need, since most people here have done that in-game already.**

 **You meant a Non-con Salsa/Fassad? That makes it even more sickening. Augh! DX I see your point that Fassad is evil for the sake of being evil, I think Porky is the worst psycho of them all, his twisted background notwithstanding. It seems he'd seen too much in too few years, but once he snapped, he _snapped_ , and it wasn't a pretty sight.**

 **Rule 34 seems to apply to everything, doesn't it. XD And no, I don't mind long reviews, they're the most fun to read. :)**

 _ **Connor the speling pro:**_

 **I know right? Paula's dad has one of those punchable faces. At least that's what I thought when I saw his sprite for the first time, and I was a kid back then. :P**

 **If all of you guys were put off by that character, then I consider it a success. I thought I might have gone a bit too far, but I'm glad the chapter was well-received.** **Yeah, Fourside murder attempts are still not explained, but I believe he has pretty good reasons.**

 **Oh, thank you! :D I'm really flattered you think I'm improving. ^_^**

 **I had no idea smell was a strong memory cue. O_O I'll edit around that scene with that new info in mind. The potpourri of smells in this chapter is purely coincidental, though. XD** _(not)_

 **Yeah, some pairings are harder to read through than watching a splatter horror movie. I could think of a few, but never mind. XD**

 _ **Guest**_

 **A fresh mint is in order. :P**

 **Yes, some authors use an S after a possessive apostrophe for all names, even those that end with 'z' or 's' (i.e. "Charles's"), but I don't. It can go both ways, but I prefer to forego it since it can sound awkward to say something like ("Ness's sister"). The key is to be consistent and stick to one.**

 **Thanks. :)**


	14. Chapter 14 - Nothing Personal

**Chapter 14 - Nothing Personal**

Lucas set down Frank's sunglasses on his desk. He eyed the other two objects next to the pointy-edged eyepiece.

There was the werewolf mask Pokey wore at the McKinley's house, its inner stuffing still reeked of Pokey's grimy sweat. Next to it, the switchblade Lucas got from the Sharks gangsters lied, unfolded. Lucas traced the blunt edge of the cold metal with a finger, before he stepped back to take a wider look at his collection of…

Trophies?

Spoils?

He wasn't entirely sure what label to slap on those items, but it felt right to hold on to something from those events as a keepsake. Blue eyes flickered to the newest addition. There was a fingerprint smudge on the left lens, and the metal bridge looked fairly worn. Lucas picked it up again to examine it closely. He plucked a yellow hair that was lodged in the hinge and held it between his index and thumb fingers.

This hair must have belonged to the gang leader. Ness had already talked him out of sharing the photos he'd taken. He said the poison illusion was harrowing enough, and spreading Frank's humiliation would only make Lucas appear like the bad guy. Lucas was fully willing to destroy Frank's mind the same way he had done to the switchblade's previous owner. He wondered whether he was going too far, whether he was becoming similar to the original owners of those things.

He flicked his finger, tossing the hair aside, then plopped down on his bed. He had a dreamless night.

* * *

Black.

Everything was black.

Ness surveyed his surroundings, but there wasn't much to look at. The space surrounding him was void of anything save for a single shade of solid black. He recalled being here before, being terrified out of his wits back then. His senses were jumbled and disoriented last time, but at the moment, his senses were keen, and his mind was strangely lucid.

This time, he was more irritated than scared.

Ness trudged a few steps forward. If he remembered right, the void in front of him should…

He looked up, seeing the space ahead crumbling to pieces right in front of him. Two enormous, disembodied green eyes appeared through the huge breaks, eventually taking up the entire void in front of him. Ness noted how the jade, amber and teal-colored circular ridges and pits inside the irises appeared like mountains from space, making the two orbs look like identical planets with a gaping black crater in the middle of each.

The dark craters expanded momentarily, before contracting. The two planet-sized eyes trained upon Ness. Just like the nightmare back on the bus.

 _'Well, If it isn't my favorite person in the world.'_

A familiar voice echoed through Ness' mind. Ness crossed his arms. After Lucas had teleported him halfway across Twoson and made a gang leader crap himself using only his mind, a person talking to him in his sleep hardly fazed him, yet he was still wary of his addressor's intentions.

"Save your freak shows, Garrickson," Ness furrowed his eyebrows, trying to sound unimpressed. He looked around, "Let me guess. This isn't exactly a dream, right?"

 _'You catch on quick, kiddo,'_ the eyes had a twinge or mirth in them. Ness flashed them a humorless smirk.

"Look who's calling whom a kiddo," he said, arching a brow, "It's strange you didn't come to personally choke me with my pillow again. Still in hospital?"

 _'Aww. Missed me already?'_

Ness' face screwed into a grimace. The massive eyes carried amusement, before fixing Ness with an intent gaze.

 _'Sadly, I'm still incapacitated, which means I have nothing better to do than annoying you in your sleep. I will make those gangsters pay dearly for what they did.'_

"You're late. Lucas already beat you to the punch."

 _'I see. Give him my thanks, then.'_

"Back at the hotel, you could've totally strangled me to death and nobody would've known what happened to me. Why are you trying to kill me?"

 _'Kill you? But I don't want you dead, Nessie. I just wanted you to experience a near-death experience.'_

"A near-what? Why are you doing this?" Ness demanded, "What do you want from me? Or Lucas for the matter?"

 _'Let's just say I have a big plan for both of you. I already talked Lucas into unknowingly setting it into motion. The rest just has to follow once I wake up.'_

"I won't let you go through with your little scheme," Ness said, furrowing his eyebrows and narrowing his eyes at the big green ones in front of him.

The irises appeared closer. Ness could see his own reflection inside the pupils before they shrunk into pinpricks.

 _'You're just postponing the inevitable. Both of you are playing into my plan, and stalling won't help.'_

"Right. I can tell him all of what you just told me, you know."

 _'Who would he believe? He can listen to my thoughts and find none of this inside my head. As for you, on the other hand, he can't hear what's inside yours. Tell me, what would you do if you were in his shoes?'_

Ness saw his point, but refused to back down. He was about to respond with another snarky reply, but a loud ringing noise cut through his senses like a hot blade through butter. He opened his eyes to find himself back in his room, his alarm clock was sounding its shrill wakeup call. He silenced it with an unceremonious pound of his fist.

He got up with a solemn frown on his face. Today he has a mission. He shall make sure to distract Lucas from anything to do with that sinister redhead.

* * *

Lucas had _enough_.

"Okay, back up a little," he finally said, raising both hands up, "What's the deal with you today, Ness?"

Ness cocked his head.

"What do you mean?" he asked too innocently.

"You're quite…" Lucas trailed off, waving his hand in a vague gesture, "…bubbly today."

"Bubbly?" Ness said, placing a hand on his chest, "No, I'm not bubbly. You're just in a foul mood. Found a fly in your cereal this morning? Heh heh heh."

Lucas shot him a blank stare.

"No, but you went off about tomorrow's baseball match, your favorite cuts of steak, Paula's parents and a million other topics I couldn't follow. All of that was in the span of…" Lucas glanced at an imaginary watch on his wrist, "Ten minutes."

"Ah. Guess I went a little overboard," Ness said. The school bell over their head rang, announcing the start of yet another school day.

"Mm. We should get to class," Lucas said. He closed his locker and turned away.

"See you at lunch break," Ness called after him.

* * *

Ness walked up to Lucas during break with a big grin plastered on his face. Lucas paused at the cafeteria door. He already didn't want to hear what Ness had in mind for him to flash that shit-eating grin.

"Lucas," Ness announced, placing a hand on Lucas' shoulder, "It is time you get a girlfriend."

Lucas seemed to process that for a moment before looking taken aback.

"Wha— No!" he said indignantly. He moved to the side so he wouldn't stand in the way of passersby.

"Yes," Ness replied, before giving Lucas a grave look, "It's a part of every teenage boy's life. You got to go on at least one date."

"I- I am not interested in a relationship nor dating," Lucas said matter-of-factly. Ness cracked up at that.

"Pff. You sound like a lawyer," Ness said, stifling another fit of snickers.

"Fuck off," Lucas said, flipping Ness off and thrusting the vulgar gesture in his face. Ness batted the hand away.

"Look, single girls are common as pigeons," Ness told Lucas while scanning the passing crowd, "It's only a matter of time before one walks by."

"I don't like this," Lucas said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"What do you think of this chick?" Ness nodded towards a girl who had just walked by them into the cafeteria.

Said 'chick' turned out to be the school's resident dorky girl. She's probably single by definition.

"Her face looks like a loaded pizza," Lucas said dryly, "I'd rather date my shoe instead."

Ness cringed at the remark.

"Ouch. Harsh," he muttered, before pointing at another girl, "How about this one? Can't say she's not a hottie, and I know she's single."

Lucas' eyes followed her for a moment, "She's pining after some seventh grader with big ears and braces."

"Oh," Ness scratched his temple, "Well, Nerds are fashionable these days. Sure you can woo her with your, uh, dashing looks?"

"It's a train wreck waiting to happen, so I'd rather watch her ask the dork out."

Ness gave Lucas a horrified look. Lucas just rolled his eyes.

"Leave it, Ness," Lucas said, hoping Ness would drop the idea.

"I won't let you die a lonely man," Ness pointed at Lucas with his finger, "As your friend, I refuse it."

"And I don't want you to play wingman for me, either. I refuse it," Lucas replied, the topic was starting to make him cranky, "I don't want to go on a date with any girl, Period. Do you understand?"

Ness seemed to have gotten a different meaning from that statement.

"Any _girl_?" Ness said, wagging his eyebrows, " Ooh, you swing _that_ way, huh? I can set you up with someone if that's your th—"

He was silenced with a hand clapped on his mouth by a red-faced Lucas.

"You two sure are having fun," a feminine chuckle sounded next to them. They looked up to see a fairly amused Paula standing in front of them.

"Oh-humph-paw-hah," Ness said through Lucas' hand. He shot Lucas an irritated look, before Lucas suddenly yelped and whipped his hand away from Ness' face. Ness cleared his throat and gave Paula a warm smile.

"Oh, hey, Paula," he repeated. Lucas stared at his hand in dismay.

"He bit me!" Lucas exclaimed, "Ew, I got Ness' slobber all over my hand."

He wiped his hand on Ness' face, who whined in protest.

"Stop acting half your ages, you dolts," Paula said, stifling a giggle. Lucas looked at Ness with mild irritation, then shifted his eyes towards the blonde girl.

"Did you guys hear about Frank Fly?" she asked, "They say he snuck into the school lab and made an absolute mess of the place."

"Heard?" Ness said, giving Lucas a pointed look, "Yeah, we _heard_ about it, all right. Every soul here has been talking about Frank today."

He snorted, "Pokey looked like a kicked puppy all day. I _almost_ felt bad for him, but you can't really feel bad for Pokey."

"That's not very nice," Paula chastised, then she seemed to remember something, "By the way, Lucas."

Lucas perked up, "Hm?"

"About Tom," she began. Lucas gave her his undivided attention while Ness cringed and slapped both hands to his face. _Dammit, Paula._

"The doctors said he should recover enough to leave within a few days," she said, "He doesn't have medical insurance, but mom said she will take care of his hospital fees."

Lucas' eyes lit up, "Really? Thank you. You guys are the best."

"It's nothing," Paula replied, "Mom was really heartbroken when she knew Tom was jumped in the park."

"Yeah, we were there," Ness said, crossing his arms. The sight of Mrs. Polestar bawling her eyes out was… intense to say the least. The bell rang loudly over their heads, making the three of them jump slightly.

"I guess I should get to class," Paula said, then shot Ness a mischievous grin, "See you later, Nessie."

"Hey, don't call me that!" he cringed as she left them, giggling to herself.

Ness turned to Lucas, who had a pensive look on his face.

"That reminds me," Lucas said, "Tom Garrickson told me if I went to a place called Giant Step, it would help me with my psychic powers."

Ness crossed his arms. He didn't like where this was going.

"Right, and I'll tell you that if you go to a place called Taco Bell, it'd help you with your shitting powers."

Lucas gave him a dumbfounded look.

"He taught me how to teleport," Lucas said, "If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have been able to run away from the gangsters."

"Look," Ness took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair, "You shouldn't always believe what he says, Luke. Why do you even trust that creep?"

"Wow. You really hate him, don't you," Lucas said in a statement more than a question.

"You don't expect me to like someone who tried to kill me twice then went all pervy on me."

"Twice?" Lucas furrowed his eyebrows.

 _Shit!_

"Uh, what I meant to say…" Ness stammered for an explanation. Lucas shook his head in disappointment and silently turned around.

Ness looked on at Lucas' retreating back with a cross expression. Why the hell Lucas refused to believe that Garrickson was behind the odd events in Fourside?

If this were a game, he would have a big, fat sign in his face, reading _'Mission Failed',_ with red flashing lights and all. He wouldn't leave Lucas to walk into a possible trap alone, anyway.

 _I freaking hate you, Garrickson,_ Ness thought as he ran after Lucas.

* * *

 **Midnight**

In a room inside the Twoson General Hospital, a pair of green eyes flickered to life with a start. Tom Garrickson rose halfway up in one stiff motion. His face was blank for a moment, before it contorted in pain as he doubled over and clutched his torso. Fire scorched his bones, and an invisible, cruel fist clawed at his heart and pounded his chest. He whimpered and clenched his teeth, fighting back tears and the urge to scream in agony. The excruciating pain lasted for an endless minute, then it disappeared in the same abrupt way it came, leaving him shivering and panting. He wiped the wayward tears and the slight trail of saliva that escaped the corner of his mouth.

This was the strongest episode yet. He was certain his time was running out fast.

He furrowed his eyebrows and closed his eyes. Concentrating his mind on the world around him, he was able to discern his surroundings with his mental eyes well beyond his conventional senses. He was interested in the conversation in the next room, where two resident doctors sipped coffee and had a chat about him. Observing them, one was a taupe-skinned woman with shoulder-length hair. The other was a lanky man with warm brown eyes, and crew-cut dirty-blond hair.

"Hey, Karl?" the woman said, pointing at some X-ray photos pinned to a backlit view box, "Do you see this? Something's not right."

"What's wrong with them, Bailey?" Karl put down his paper cup and sauntered over to her. He rested his chin on her shoulder and looked up to her with a playful smirk. She gave him a half-lidded smile before dropping it for a more serious frown.

"Those X-rays belong to, uh," Bailey paused to read the file in her hands, "Tom Garrickson Junior, an eighteen-year old who was assaulted near Burglin Park. He's still comatose, isn't he?"

"Mhm," Karl said, "Poor kid barely looks thirteen. He has got internal injuries, multiple facial lacerations, several bruises and a broken arm. Doc Anderson is supervising his case, if I remember right."

"Yup, although it's technically an anterior fracture-dislocation of the olecranon, not plainly a broken arm, Karl," Bailey corrected him in a deadpan. Karl's lazy grin widened, still resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I love it when you talk dirty," he hummed in her ear. She snorted and shook her head.

"Oh, you," she said, then pointed at the black and white images, "Anyway. Seriously, look here. We didn't ask for a chest image, but check this out. Right under the diaphragm in front of the spine. What _is_ that?"

Karl's eyes turned towards the X-rays, "I don't see what— hold on." His smile dropped, and his relaxed eyes turned alert in an instant.

"This doesn't add up," Bailey said, "I don't think it's natural for humans to have something like this."

"How come we missed this?" he said, peeling his chin from her shoulder and stepping forward to smooth the edges of the black image against the illuminated surface, "Most importantly, how come the kid is still alive?"

"I think we should run this by Dr. Anderson," Bailey noted, "Maybe that's why his growth is stunted."

"Please don't talk about me as if I'm not standing right here," a voice sounded from behind them. The two physicians jumped in their places and swivelled around to spot a healthy-looking, unblemished redheaded boy in a hospital gown staring them down with owlish eyes and a cold smile.

"How—" Bailey said, before Tom Garrickson's eyes began to glow.

"PK Hypnosis," he whispered. The two doctors stared into his eyes as theirs glazed over, before they dropped like lead-filled bags to the floor. Tom Garrickson stepped over them towards the wall. He looked up towards the images. His face scrunched up in disgust.

So that's how _it_ looks like.

He reached up and picked the image from the view box. He stared at it for a moment, before the thin plastic shattered into dust in his hands. He glanced at the unconscious doctors over his shoulder. They had seen something they shouldn't have. He had to kill…

No.

He could just manipulate their memories instead. They'll wake up an hour later with a headache and no recollection of the past few minutes. A few moments later, he stood on a cliff overlooking the town.

Teleportation seemed to come easily this time. Had he been stable the other day, he wouldn't have been done in by some gangsters. He stepped towards a dark cave he knew too well. A few steps inside, he found a corner and sat there. He let out a grunt, remembering the thin gown fabric did little to prevent the cold, jagged rocks from digging into the flesh of his backside. He ignored the discomfort and willed himself to focus.

Black.

Tom Garrickson wondered if Ness was this terrified the first time _he_ contacted him using this technique. Crimson threads swirled in the black void, coalescing into a shapeless form that vaguely resembled a mangled skull.

 ** _'You are late, child.'_**

An unearthly voice boomed inside Tom Garrickson's mind. That voice will never cease to make him tremble in fear.

"I apologize," he muttered submissively, casting down his head.

 ** _'What happened to the two you told me about?'_**

"Th-they should be in Giant Step soon."

 ** _'And are you sure the two of them are stable psychics as well?'_**

"Yes," Tom dared to look up, "I am staking my life on it."

 ** _'Of course you are.'_**

The voice seemed to mock him.

"Please keep your end of the bargain, master."

 ** _'I keep my promises. Only if you are up to the task. Now tell that contact of yours to go fetch the girl.'_**

"Yes."

Tom Garrickson severed the mental link and got up. He hated having to lure Lucas to Giant Step, but the vague throbbing in his chest reminded him his days are numbered. If he didn't comply with his master's wishes, he was as good as dead. It was nothing personal to Lucas.

As for Ness…

Tom Garrickson's eyes narrowed.

It was _totally_ personal.

* * *

 **A/N: My laptop's hard disk head-crashed, so I've lost a lot of my files, one of which was the document where I kept drafts of my other fic, so I think Academic Acceleration won't receive any updates until next month or once I get my bearings and rewrite the lost parts from memory.**

 **Anyway, Happy Holidays wherever you are. :)**

 **On with the Review Responses:**

 _ **Connor the speling pro:**_

 **I don't know if I'd be good enough to write a published novel. I'm quite content with writing fanfiction for now. 4 - 5 years is a pretty long time, so we'll just see where this goes. I think you're pretty ahead of me in terms of writing skill though, so in a few years I might see a published fantasy novel written by someone with a penchant for flowing dialogue and complex backstories. X) Good luck on your second instalment of Ceres. (I think you could write a few chapters ahead, then edit the glaring plot holes out of the earlier chapters afterwards, but that's only because I'm _really_ curious about the story itself. You can stall the updates while you figure out what to write/rewrite anyway. I think I can live without )**

 **And yes. The flashback's placement is a little odd, I totally agree. Can't find a suitable place to lug it in, though. I think I'll edit it into this chapter or somewhere else later if I find a more suitable place.**

 **I watched the poison scene from The Princess Bride, and my jaw hit the ground. I mean... I felt so unoriginal. XD I think I'll watch the rest of the movie (Even though a scene was spoiled). I take it it was based on a novel, right?**

 **Yeah, Frank did deserve the disgrace, and it's true Lucas' vengefulness is a bit extreme. He could totally become as bad as the villains, but he seems to be able to listen to reason and back down. Thankfully, Ness is the (unexpected) reasonable guy here.**

 **Thanks, and good luck with your story again. :D**

 _ **StickOfTruth:**_

 **Half a brain? Pokey? You're giving him way too much cognitive power. XD**

 **From what I gathered in Mother 3 and late stages of Earthbound, Pokey did seem to think of Ness as a friend. (Keeping footage and memorabilia of him is creepier than anything Tom Garrickson had ever done, honestly)**

 **Censor? Oh please, there are about two dozen F-bombs in the story so far, I doubt I have to protect my 'dainty sensibilities' from profanity in reviews. XD**

 **Complete wimp, yeah, I'm with you on that. Partial wimp who became stronger, spot-on. (Some fanfics depict him as a total badass/distant a-hole, which is a little OOC too)**

 **"Lecherous bastard" will still make me laugh no matter what. I think I'll start using it where appropriate. XD** **You're too good at guessing, or that I'm too obvious. I'm leaning on the latter. Though I was a bit curious what was your 'inkling of an idea'.**

 **Nocebo it is. You don't 'please' with making someone throw up and shit themselves, right? And yes, those hula-hoop bastards were a pain to deal with. No idea what happens to Frank, but if he was a known thug and is now totally** **helpless, why wouldn't the cops arrest him? Then again, it's Onett police we're talking about. They might set up roadblocks around the hospital or something. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯**

 **Fraternal twins are basically two different siblings born at the same time. When I was little, everybody used to think my younger sister and I were twins, even though I'm two years older than her. (Now we look nothing alike, haha), so I wouldn't be surprised if Lucas and Claus were quasi-identical save for the hair. I wonder how the two of them have different hair color from their two brown-haired parents. Generation-skipping traits, maybe? Yes, his eye flashed green. Examine the cutscene. (That rhymed, heh.)**

 **A South Park writing contest? ...Why did a mental image of Cartman and Butters suddenly jump into my head instead of Fassad and... AUGH BAD THOUGHTS! BAD THOUGHTS! DX Though really, I'm a little curious about what you'll be writing. Hope you win. XD**

 **True, Fassad is rotten for no freaking reason even when he's fully aware pulling the needle he's supposed to protect will make him disappear, which is as good as dead. Maybe a case of 'If I'm dying, I'll bring the world with me'? Who knows.**

 **AA has little luck in term of backups. :/ I'm gonna have to rewrite a big chunk of the coming chapters after losing my laptop storage.**

 _ **Ender2142:**_

 **Snake? Oh, you play Brawl, not SSB4? I have both, though SSBB is on my PC, actually. A PC with Dolphin installed does the trick :P I think Lucas and Ness look strange in Brawl, with bigger heads and all. PK Flash is okay but only when edge-guarding or something. Never tried it on fast-moving targets unless covered by a team member. (Useful tactic btw)**

 **I don't know how you can listen to music and read. I'm not a good multi-tasker when it comes to reading and listening to music at the same time. XD**

 **Guess I wouldn't blame your brother. Lucas was quite wimpy in SSE. Maybe Lucas went a little overboard with Frank, but glad Ness was there to put him in check before he did anything more... permanent. :3**

 **You're welcome. It's great to see new writers any time, and your writing is pretty good. Cheers. :)**

 _ **Guest:**_

 **Technically, it's 'nocebo'. Placebo means 'I shall please', and I doubt Frank was pleased. :P**

 _ **PSIBoy:**_

 **Hello. :)**

 **And now we have a confession that Tom did what he did to Ness. Only thing left to figure out is _why_ exactly.**

 **I agree, Paula's parents aren't necessarily hateful, but they want the best for their dear, precious little girl, and in their opinion (or more like, Mr. Polestar's opinion since Paula's mom is fairly OK to Ness), he is a loudmouth who's only a bad influence. I guess that's why there's a bit of friction between the two. In the way to poke fun at their relationship.**

 **Yeah, Lucas went ballistic on the Sharks. At least on their head honcho. It's true, if he keeps it up he'll end up a worse villain than everyone who wronged him combined. You can't blame him, but at least he has a good head on his shoulders, and Ness is there to stop him in case he went overboard. (Hopefully) XD**

 **Thanks. :) Have a great day as well.**

 _ **Ninten64:**_

 **Thanks. ^_^ Yeah, Lucas wouldn't commit murder and actually poison Frank, right? Right? *hesitant smile***


	15. Chapter 15- Giant Step, Giant Everything

**Chapter 15 - Giant Step, Giant Everything**

"Calm down, you stupid cow!"

Aloysius Minch was red in the face, his mouth pulled back in a hostile snarl as his ursine body shook with rage. His wife, Lardna, mirrored his expression, albeit with a touch of inebriation, evident from the half-empty glass sloshing clumsily in her hand, and a few extra touches of hysteria, evident from the stream of tears that stained her face with wet mascara.

It was yet another late-night fight at the Minches' house. For probably the billionth time, Pokey stood a few feet away from his howling parents, watching them fight over some trivial crap he'd done while minding his stinging cheek, having received a slap and a kick or two from either parents. They were exchanging accusations on who caused Pokey to become 'such a rotten little shit' enough to be caught smoking, before Aloysius took notice of his son and cut his routine fight with his wife.

"The hell are you still standing here for? Get to your room already," he growled, accentuating the command with pinching Pokey's ear and slapping the side of his head with a rough hand. Pokey silently took the slap and trudged upstairs. His parents resumed their screaming at each other the moment he'd turned around.

Years back, Pokey would have bawled his eyeballs out, but now he was pretty much desensitized. He took a tentative step towards his little brother's room. Slowly cracking open the door, Pokey stuck out his head into Picky's room, then stepped inside. He spotted his little brother on his bed, sleeping while still in his everyday clothes. Before his parents caught him with a smoke, Lardna was screaming her lungs off at Picky for complaining about her cooking. That was a Bad Move, with capitalized letters for emphasis. It earned Picky more than a few spanks and a week of having to go without dinner, so he would learn to appreciate her cooking.

Picky must have cried himself to sleep again. His face was buried in the pillow, and he lied on top of the covers. Pokey's shoulders met his ears at the nipping air that snuck from the window. He had half a mind of pulling out a blanket and draping it over the shivering nine-year old's body, but that was too much work. He stepped to the window and slid it shut, then turned back, giving Picky one last glance.

He'll learn to deal with it eventually, Pokey thought, before exiting the room and shuffling towards his own. It wasn't the first time Picky had been 'sentenced' to go without food for a while, which was pretty much why he ended up stick-thin, unlike the rest of his family. At least Lardna didn't dish out one of her 'novel' punishments, like that one time she'd put Picky's hands under scalding-hot water for scrumping from Ness' backyard trees during one of his no-food periods, or when Aloysius beat him silly and booted him in the stomach, making him stumble ass-first down the stairs. Picky wasn't able to walk well for a week after that one. At least Pokey was glad he only got to watch, since it wasn't usually him on the receiving end of his parents' wrath.

Pokey stepped into his room and did a double take when he saw the lights were out.

"Strange. I don't remember turning off the lights," Pokey murmured, reaching to flick up the light switch. A hand clamped itself on his wrist and twisted his arm behind his back, making him scream as he was tugged down, forcing his back to arch backwards. Pokey squealed in terror and froze in his place, half-blinded by the fluorescent light directly above him.

"Be still, Pokey. You may change your pants in a moment," whoever pinned Pokey said calmly into his ear. The grip on Pokey's arm loosened, then the hands turned him around. Pokey saw a short, green-eyed boy looking up at him.

"Garrickson?" Pokey hissed, "How… What are you doing here?"

"Paying you a visit," Tom Garrickson said, rubbing his pinky finger into his ear, "Damn, your parents are loud. I can't hear myself thinking up here."

Pokey shot him a wry grin, "Sorry. It's a family tradition."

"Well, that sucks," Tom replied, sitting on the edge of Pokey's bed. He gave Pokey a serious look.

"Remember what I told you a while ago? We're doing it tomorrow," he said. Pokey looked uneasy.

"Tomorrow?" Pokey strained. Tom flashed him a broad smile.

"Of course."

"But why her?"

"This is to get back at Lucas for what he did to Fly. I thought I explained that at length."

"That's Ness' sister you're talking about," Pokey said, "Shouldn't you get back at Lucas with something more direct?"

"Ness doesn't see you as a friend anymore," Tom gave him a smirk, "Didn't he stand with Lucas against you and Frank? If you do as I say, I promise he'll ditch Lucas and come back as your best friend."

"But I don't see—"

"Look," Tom said, hiding his irritation behind a forced smile, "I'm your friend. Shouldn't friends trust each other?"

Pokey seemed to back down a little, "Y-yeah."

"Pokey?" A small voice came from the doorway, barely audible through the screaming of the two adults downstairs. Pokey's eyes snapped towards the apprehensive-looking boy standing at the entrance of the room, rubbing a tired eye with his fist.

"I heard you yell. What happened?" he asked, giving his big brother a concerned look.

"Why are you awake?" Pokey said dryly, "Go back to your room."

"…Who's that?" Picky pointed towards Tom, who gave him a warm smile.

"Hey. Is that your little brother?" Tom cooed, beckoning Picky to come closer, "Come here, boy. Don't be shy."

Picky turned his head to Pokey with a questioning look. Pokey shrugged and rolled his eyes before a hesitant Picky crossed the room towards Tom, standing awkwardly in front of him.

"What's your name?" Tom asked, brushing aside the messy blond bangs from Picky's eyes.

"Picky," he said it as if he was unsure.

"Hi, Picky," Tom said sweetly, "My name is Tom. I'm Pokey's friend."

Pokey crossed his arms, watching the two interact with wary eyes. Garrickson was good with kids, since Picky warmed up to the stranger in mere minutes. Or maybe the little shit only needed a friendly face to latch on. Tom placed a hand on the younger Minch's shoulder.

"Tell, me Picky, do you like your big bro?" he asked, giving Pokey a scrutinizing look from the top of his glasses.

"Mm," the little boy nodded, facing his big bro with a smile, "A whole lot."

Pokey's unease doubled.

"What are you getting at?" he asked. Tom let out an airy laugh, wrapping his arms around Picky's neck and crossing them in front of the boy's chest, in a way one would cuddle a big stuffed toy.

"I mean, I can pull everything off on my own," he said from behind Picky's shoulder, "But you wouldn't want little Picky here to join Tracy too, no?"

Pokey's eyes widened in horror, "Y-you wouldn't!"

Without Picky around, his parents would eat him alive. Pokey wouldn't have that.

Picky turned his head to Tom, "You know Trace? Are you friends with Ness, too?"

Tom's expression fell for a split-second, before he flashed Picky a saccharine smile, "Mhm. You can say that."

He lifted his eyes towards Pokey, who was sweating bullets, "So? What say you?"

Pokey gave him a hateful scowl, before nodding grudgingly.

"Great!" he exclaimed, patting Picky on the top of his head, "Good night, Picky. It's getting late, and I should go."

Picky nodded and scampered away to his room. Once he was out of sight, Tom gave Pokey a sly smirk.

"It's a deal, then. I'll find you tomorrow."

He said that, then disappeared from sight. Pokey advanced towards his bed and punched the spot where Tom was sitting seconds ago.

"Fucking _snake_ ," he growled, punching the mattress until his fists grew numb. He flinched when he heard the noise of something shattering to pieces downstairs. He had a vague hunch this was Aloysius' prized vase.

 _'I hope they kill each other now,'_ he thought, before dropping himself onto his bed.

* * *

 _*Crack*_

 _*Spit*_

 _*Crack*_

 _*Spit*_

As if hypnotized, Ness lazily leaned his elbow on his baseball bat and watched Lucas take small, elongated black seeds into his mouth from a tiny bag in his hand, crack one between his front teeth, spit out the husk, then plop in another seed at an impressive speed. At the moment, Ness pictured Lucas as a greatly efficient husking machine.

Or a hungry parrot.

Ness giggled at the mental image of Lucas with a parrot beak, especially since Lucas' hair dye had faded by now, returning back to its blond hue and upwards swirl at the front. Add a beak, and Lucas would totally look like a cockatiel. He snorted again, evoking a quirked eyebrow from Lucas.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ness asked. He had come over from baseball training, and passed by Lucas' house, only to find him shelling sunflower seeds like it was going out of style. A big San Bernard dog lied down on the porch, snoozing.

"Having a snack," Lucas replied as if this was the most obvious thing in the world, "I won't believe it if you tell me you've never seen sunflower seeds before."

"I have. Mom likes to put 'em on salads," Ness said, then nodded towards the heap of seed shells on the ground in front of Lucas, "Aren't you gonna bother with cleaning up this mess?"

Lucas paused, staring at the pile, "Whoops."

"Yeah. I mean, sunflower husks are kinda unsightly for a front lawn decoration."

"They'd be good for the soil, I guess," Lucas said, before bending down and sweeping the discarded shells in a cupped hand. He stood up and tossed the fistful into a plastic trashcan at the corner of the lawn.

"Happy now?" Lucas huffed, plopping back on the patio chair.

"Ecstatic," Ness replied in a monotone. The San Bernard looked up at the two humans and let out an indifferent yawn.

"I'm glad you're taking the aesthetics of my house to heart," Lucas replied in the same flat fashion.

Ness smirked and rolled his eyes, then he stared out at the street. He squinted as the setting sun was directly on eye level. Why the hell Lucas' house faced west?

"So," he began, unsure how to approach the topic he had in mind, "Tomorrow is Independence Day, which means school's out."

Lucas knit his eyebrows and gave Ness a confused stare, "And you're stating the obvious, why?"

"You're going to Giant Step first thing in the morning, aren't you?" Ness said in a resigned voice.

Lucas groaned, "Ness, don't start this—"

"Yeah, yeah. Wasn't gonna talk you out of it. I just wanted to ask if I could tag along."

Lucas seemed a little baffled at the sudden change of heart.

"Uh, you can come, sure. Why?"

"Good. See, I've been thinking…"

"Gee, that's good news."

"Shut up," Ness looked peeved before clearing his throat, "I was thinking I could stay over, so that we go to that place early. Like real early."

"And?"

"And after you find out Giant Step is either a stupid cliff with a big, smelly footprint on it, _or_ a trap by Garricks—"

"Ness!" Lucas protested, but Ness raised his voice over Lucas'.

" _Or a trap by Garrickson_ ," he continued, then lowered his tone, "Either way, he can't face both of us. _If_ he's got something there. Also, you're taking me out to breakfast afterwards."

Lucas blinked in surprise.

"Huh?"

"You heard me," Ness said, pointing the tip of his bat at Lucas, "For going through the trouble of accompanying you to Giant Step, you're _so_ taking me out to breakfast. That means the bill's on you."

"Ugh, you're awful."

"Bullshit, you love me."

"Fat chance."

"You're taking me to that new restaurant down the main street. I hear it's the best."

"AND IT'S THE MOST EXPENSIVE, YOU GLUTTONOUS BASTARD!" Lucas shrieked, dismayed at the potential damage to his wallet. A grin crept up his face nonetheless as the fur ball at his feet jumped at the sudden outburst.

Ness shrugged, fully knowing Lucas will eventually cave in if he was obnoxious enough.

* * *

 **Later that night**

A silhouette approached the hill north of Onett, which appeared cavernous and featureless in the dark, save for the two disproportionate houses in front. Tom Garrickson stood just outside the fence surrounding the smaller house of the pair, eyeing one of the windows in particular, before he teleported into the space behind it. The Minches' residence was extravagant in its furnishing; the priciest chandeliers, marble floors, fine hardwood accents, and every piece of décor must have fetched a four-digit figure at least. In contrast, this house screamed middle-class. The walls were covered in white paint and blue wallpaper, and the doors were made of generic, painted wood. It was nowhere as luxurious as the mansion next door, yet unlike the sterile air to the Minches' mansion, this house felt… warm. Welcoming. Despite himself, Tom Garrickson found a faint smile ghost over his lips as he surveyed Ness' room.

"I can totally get used to this," he murmured, lying on the bed and crossing his arms behind his head. Too bad Nessie wasn't home, otherwise he would've had a bit of fun messing with him, but he figured that was for the best. He was here on a different mission, but he couldn't help but take in every detail around him, before getting up and exiting the room. He tiptoed towards the next door. He poked his head inside and spotted a soundly asleep little girl. He stood next to the bed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. The girl looked like an angel, oblivious to the world around her. Tom Garrickson bent down and fixed her sleeping form with glowing eyes.

He couldn't risk her waking up at all. A small psychic effort would ensure that.

A blink later, he was sitting in Pokey's car, with Tracy now lying on the backseat.

"Smooth and clean," he muttered as the displaced air around him boomed. Pokey jolted in the passenger seat and swore, the car slightly rocking with him.

"Where's the girl?" he asked, still jarred at Tom's sudden appearance. The redhead thrust his thumb behind him.

"Here she is. Told you it was gonna be a piece of cake," he said, his eyes still giving off the eerie glow. Pokey gawked at him, apparently going to ask him what the fuck was wrong with his eyes, but he gulped down the question and stared forward instead. Tom Garrickson started the car, while Pokey sat with his hands in his lap, anxiety seeping from his posture.

* * *

The alarm clock blared, causing Lucas to stir uncomfortably in his bed. He sat up and reached for the clock, silencing it with a tap. He eyed the empty sleeping bag on the floor, before remembering who occupied it for the night. Ness was sitting at the desk, fully dressed and stuffing his baseball bat in his backpack.

"Rise and shine, princess," Ness said, a little too happily for Lucas, who got out from bed and purposefully trudged to the hallway. He deliberately washed his face a dozen times, brushed his teeth, flossed, washed his face again, and meticulously groomed his hair. When he exited, Ness was almost jumping up and down in his place.

"What the hell took you so long?" Ness hissed, "Half an hour in the bathroom? My mom doesn't do that."

"It's too early to hear your whining, Ness," Lucas said, pushing the capped kid out of his room, "I'll get dressed. Get outta here."

"But—" Lucas slammed the door in Ness' face before he completed. A minute later, Lucas emerged, wearing his red-and-yellow rugby shirt and a pair of denim shorts.

"Ready," he said. Ness tugged at his backpack straps. Lucas eyed the bat handle poking out of Ness' bag.

"You're bringing your baseball bat?"

"Can't be too careful."

They got out of the house and leisurely walked towards the hills. Lucas suggested bringing 'Boney' along, but Ness vehemently refused, saying dogs tended to be unreliable, citing his own old mutt's terrible record. Ness led Lucas around the hilltops the other way from the library, then stopped in front of a ratty shack standing in the way to the cave leading to Giant Step. Ness pulled the door handle, but it was locked.

"Welp, it's locked," Ness said, "Guess we should come back another time, huh?"

Lucas shook his head and started climbing the low fence. He jumped off to the other side.

"…Oh," Ness voiced dumbly, before following suit.

The cave was dark and vast, a musty, humid smell filling their noses. Ness got out two flashlights and handed one to Lucas. He gazed at the flashlight in his hand, remembering the last time it was used was during Lucas' face-off with Frank. A shadow scurried by the light, causing the two boys to jump and whip their flashlights to the left. Ness saw a bug the size of his forearm scuttling down the cave and disappearing into some hole.

"Shit, did you see that bug?" Ness whispered, "Do those things even grow this big?"

"What, are you scared?" Lucas teased.

"I'm not," Ness snapped, passing in front of Lucas.

The only way up was through a braided hemp rope which dangled from the upper level of the cave, where it was fastened to a rusted over peg driven into the ground. Ness gave it an experimental tug, then began climbing. He reached the top and hauled his legs over the edge with a grunt. He looked down to watch Lucas struggle with climbing up, much to his amusement. Eventually, Lucas made it, ending up on all fours, panting for breath.

"My hands are killing me," he wheezed, "Are you sure this the only way up?"

"Yup," Ness beamed, "And it's the only way down, mind you. So wanna call it quits?"

"Dream on," Lucas said, standing up and walking towards the exit. Once they were outside, Lucas stopped and looked around.

"Ness? Can you hear it too?"

"Hear what?"

"It's… like that time back in Fourside. That thing we saw at the mall?"

"I don't hear—" Ness trailed off, "Wait. Yeah, I do."

"See?" Lucas said giddily, "Tom Garrickson wan't lying."

"I'm only hearing weird music. Doesn't mean Garrickson is telling the truth or otherwise."

Lucas ignored him and ran away towards another cave on the other side of the hill.

"Hey! Stop running away on me, dammit," he protested, running behind Lucas.

This cave was smaller than the one they'd been in a while ago, with an overpowering musty stench Ness couldn't place. Once he was inside, Ness clicked on his flashlight. The light fell on a trio of the jumbo bugs. They looked like black wasps or ants with fat antennae and narrow bodies. Instead of scurrying away like what insects usually did, they lunged at the light source. Ness took a step back, whipping out his bat as one of the ants launched itself at him. He swung his bat, crushing the bug with a 'thwack'. The insect landed on the ground, curling up on itself. Ness only noticed that he dropped the flashlight in his wild swing. His eyes whipped to Lucas, who extended a hand at the remaining two bugs.

"Lucas, what the hell are you—"

Glowing, blue hexagonal-shaped _things_ formed in the blond's hand and hurtled towards the hostile ants. They landed with successive explosions, kicking up dust, gravel and bug parts in the air.

"…Doing," Ness managed to complete his sentence. He gawked at Lucas with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.

"What?" Lucas said, slightly uncomfortable at Ness' gaze.

"That was so _freaking cool!_ " Ness exclaimed, flailing his arms, "It was like, _WHOOSH_ then _BAM_ and the things never knew what hit 'em."

He stopped to take a breath, "Why didn't you tell me you can do this?"

Lucas crossed his arms, "Yeah, because it's a totally casual thing to talk about out of the blue. Seriously Ness, don't be dumb."

"Whoa, sorry I asked," Ness said, "But really, that was epic."

Lucas picked up the dropped flashlight and flashed Ness a smirk. He turned around, advancing further into the cave, eventually stopping at a rocky wall, where yet another hemp rope swayed lazily.

"Oh God, another rope," Lucas groaned, while Ness chuckled, climbing first. He reached the top quickly again, then turned around and watched Lucas climb and utter profanities under his breath.

"Gimme your hand, dude," Ness called, crouching down and extending an arm down.

Lucas sighed and took Ness' hand, who pulled him up with both arms. Ness placed his hands on his hips and gave Lucas a smirk.

"Thinking about going back yet?" he said. Instead of replying with a witty remark, Lucas' face drained of its color as he clapped a hand to his mouth.

"Big ant! Behind you!" he cried out, pointing with his other hand to a point behind him. Ness had a feeling he'd heard this warning before.

"Oh, ha-ha. Very funny, Luke," he said, crossing his arms in front of him, "You're not gonna run away on me and ditch yesterday's deal. Fool me once, shame on you. F—"

"Duck!" Lucas interrupted him by tackling him to the ground. Ness landed with Lucas on top of him, knocking the wind out of his lungs.

"Oomph," Ness let out a grunt and peered above Lucas' shoulder. He saw enormous mandibles clamp down on the exact spot where his neck happened to be not a second ago.

A giant insect, no less than eight feet long, towered over them, with a horde of those foot-long ants swarming around it. The two of them rolled away from each other, before one of its spike-like jointed limbs sank into the ground they were on, crushing one of the flashlights. Ness scrambled to his feet, staring at the monstrosity in front of him with wide eyes.

"Oh my god," he breathed, feeling dread pool in his stomach.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, I'm back again with The Return of the Titanic Ant, as put eloquently by a reviewer.**

 **Review responses:**

 _ **Connor the speling pro:**_

 **In my previous response, I meant to say 'I can live without regular Ceres chapters for a while', but it got deleted somehow in the editing. So, sorry about that.**

 **Yes, anyone can write well if they improve themselves, and it is interesting as a hobby for now.** **I get it if you changed your mind on engineering. It's mostly fun when it's not chicken-scratch math and unfathomable equations thrust in your face, which is the reason why I love hands-on courses more than conceptual and introductory ones. Though a lot of the fun comes well after the tough, theoretical courses. Perhaps that's why I did better at physics than math.**

 **I know right? I didn't think Ceres was too similar to Harry Potter, though I initially visualized Minerva Carpainter to look like Minerva McGonagall (Gryffindor's head teacher). Which is mostly because of the name. That reminds me, there is this website, it's "I Write Like" and it compares your writing to some famous authors - dunno if you know about it already. I'm sceptic as to whether it's really accurate, but at least it gave me a consistent result that my writing sounds like Jane Austen. I don't know, but it seems to think I share her scathing, parodical sense of humour and her degree of realism. Even though she writes romance and I'm basically clueless with that. *shrugs***

 **Epic fantasy is an investment of both time and mind. Sometimes I pass by Game of Thrones books then think: I'm not gonna sift through that. I haven't watched the show nor read the books, anyway. Games can be a great device to deliver a high fantasy story, like how Dragon Age puts all of the lore in a neat 'codex' one can read through at their leisure, yet keeping the important aspects of the plot front and center.**

 **Thanks. ^_^ As for the creepy part at the end, I'm leaving Tom Garrickson's 'condition' in the dark for now. :P Horror? Not sure, since there won't be a lot of body horror and the like. This story is rated 'T', remember? XD I'm not sure if I'm too obvious with his master's identity, but it's obvious (I think?) that it's alien. Next chapter will clear that up, anyway.**

 _ **Ender2142:**_

 **I actually thought about it, but Ana is from Snowman, which is in America, and America doesn't exist in this fanfic, where Eagleland stands in for the USA basically. I think if I had to place Ana, I would have to insert Ninten and Lloyd, but there isn't a good place for them to feature so late in the story. Maybe next time. XD**

 **I'm actually not too hot about Cloud. I mean, I like FFVII and all, but Cloud Strife in SSB brings back when Squaresoft screwed Nintendo over for Sony. I know it's a petty grudge to hold after so long, but it's held by a lot. :P And the last DLC character turned out to be Bayonetta, not Ninten, sadly. (Gotta say, that Nintendo Direct video was cringe-worthy. I mean, a battle with Pit? Ugh) I hope they give Earthbound more representatives on the next version of the game, if they make one.**

 **Lucas _is_ withdrawn from most people, only acting decent to those he can't read their minds (Ness), or those he'd grown up with during a critical period of his life (Tom Garrickson). I think I've been focusing a lot on his interaction with those two instead of contrasting his behaviour with others for a while. And yes, Garrickson means business. XD**

 **Anyway, even though it's been around a week, hope you had fun at the party. :D**

 _ **StickOfTruth:**_

 **I wouldn't call him a lowly grunt, but okay. I think I could replace Chapter 12 with 'Tom Garrickson is really fixated on Ness for some reason' and get the same meaning out of it, sans 3K+ words. Right? XD**

 **A bomb or a device big enough to kill Tom wouldn't be overlooked by X-ray specialists and doctors, right? Think of something a bit more clandestine. ;)**

 **LOL at the 'Return of the Titanic Ant'. Again, awesome choice of words, though not as brilliant as 'lecherous bastard', but pretty high there. Yeah, it's obviously not the Titanic Ant pulling the strings, but I hope you're not too... _ant_ sy to know who the Big Bad is. *Escapes a barrage of curses and rotten eggs***

 **I grew up in a small town that was little more than a main street and a few rows of houses around it, and I had to ride the bus to a bigger town for school. The school was around 4 or 5 miles away, which is a distance one would expect to cross inside a big city. I imagine Onett and Twoson to be tiny towns like that. Paula's about to be kidnapped? Said who? }:D And yeah, Ness' plans of mischief were dealt a rotten hand, no thanks to Garrickson.**

 **One thirty-second (thirty-twoth?) of a brain is more like it. We'll just see how creepier Garrickson can be.**

 **Filtering profanities is possible through an option in the user's control panel. I disabled it because I'm not bothered by non G-rated language, but I guess it's there out of obligation to kids and what not. E-mail notifications bleep out some no-no words by default anyway.**

 **I agree on Lucas' personality. He's really hard to write, but I do imagine him growing a bit wimpy/coddled if his family remained in one piece, since he's got Claus to protect him and Hinawa to run crying to. Flint doesn't offer much in terms of love and nurturing, so him alone would leave Lucas to grow a tougher hide.**

 **Yes, you are pretty darn good with guessing, since most of your reviews contain pointers to what _will_ happen next. XD It's natural extrapolation, since I guess most readers know the general universe and attributes of the characters. **

**Oh god. I think I should've said 'You don't please a well-adjusted person'. XD Some dark depths are not meant to be explored if you want your sanity in one piece.**

 **Well... Onett police are horrid. They're only competent at setting up roadblocks and ganging up on hapless 13-year old silent protagonists, but that's only because said 13-year old silent protagonists won't talk about it.**

 **The chance of a Cartman/Butters pairing being non-abusive (any Cartman-related pairing, obviously) is close to nil. Well, a 20K Scrottie McBoogerballs-like story sounds like a fun read. Do send me a link or something if you're done. ^^**

 **I've read Helmets are Hardly Heroic. I'm no music expert (I play the guitar and piano, though I'm barely listenable), but if 'Locrian' scale is a deficient scale in comparison to the other perfect fifths, it makes it too clear why Fassad turned rotten. It was a great story, though it could use a little more spellchecking, but that's not too important.**

 **Happy Holidays. :)**


	16. Chapter 16 - Traumatic Awakening

**Chapter 16 - Traumatic Awakening**

The massive ant stood in the space between Ness and Lucas, its two compound eyes reflecting the little light seeping in from the exit behind it and the remaining flashlight in Lucas' grip.

Ness whipped out his bat and held it in front of himself, while Lucas pulled out his switchblade as his other fist glowed cyan. Avoiding the big ant was easier than avoiding the smaller ones, which climbed up their legs and jumped on top of their heads. Ness swung his bat this way and that, and stomped the bugs into the ground with his feet. Lucas fared a little worse, having slower methods of defending himself. One ant climbed up Lucas' back and sunk its stinger into the back of his neck. He yelped at the searing pain shooting across his shoulder blades. He tore the insect off his back and slashed it to ribbons.

They couldn't avoid the huge ant forever, since defending themselves from jet-black ants which shifted rapidly in the sparse light was proving to be an overwhelming challenge. Lucas found himself and Ness getting boxed into a corner, their backs almost pressed against the rocky walls of the cave. In a moment of fight-or-flight, Ness screwed his eyes shut and charged at the ant while yelling at the top of his lungs. He lifted the bat over his head and brought it down on the monster, only for the bat to ricochet off its chitinous skin, leaving behind a small dent in its midsection. Ness paused for a moment to gawk at the minimal damage, before a jointed limb jabbed him across the chest, knocking him off his feet and into Lucas. The two ended up in a pile on the ground.

Lucas groped at the wall, standing upright while eyeing the enormous ant. He thought he might predict its next move, but the thing had no mind complex enough for emotions or thoughts. He was essentially surrounded by huge, mindless bugs which mistook him for food, which made Lucas' blood run cold.

What terrified him to no end, however, that the creatures were absolutely silent.

No hissing, no movie-like garbled screeching. The only noises they made was the clacking of their mandibles or the ominous tapping sound of the jointed, sharp-tipped limbs. With one fluid motion, the titanic ant rose up on its three back limbs and lunged at the two with its mandibles splayed wide. Their reflexes kicked into high drive, jumping to the side. Lucas managed to avoid the attack, whereas Ness was half a step too slow.

Lucas watched with horror as one of the insect's scythe-like mandibles gored Ness in the torso.

Ness let out a bloodcurdling scream, reverberating through the cave. He kicked the air as he was lifted up by the ant. Lucas rose up to his feet and picked up the switchblade from the ground. Ness twisted in agony as the massive ant curled its mandibles together.

" _Ness!_ " Lucas felt helpless; he wasn't able to attack the ant without harming Ness, who dangled from its mouth.

"Go away… G-Go away," Ness managed to whimper through his laboured breathing. His body shook frantically underneath the ant, which was about to saw him in half with its mandibles. Ness' upper body began glowing.

"Go… _AWAY_!" he screamed, a shower of multicolored rays shot out of his hands, hitting the insect in the face and hurling it on its back a few feet away. The part of the insect's mouthparts which was lodged in Ness' abdomen broke off with a sickening, wet _'crack',_ leaving it protruding out from Ness' side. He dropped to the ground and immediately collapsed on his back.

The light show jarred Lucas, who sprang forward, clutching the switchblade in his hands and lunged at the insect's narrow midsection, right were Ness' bat had left a dent. He stabbed madly at the overturned ant, which whipped the air with its remaining legs, cracking the hard shell further. Lucas aimed his hands at the cracked exoskeleton and fired blows of cyan hexagons from his fingertips. The final explosion separated the ant's bulbous abdomen from its middle, drenching Lucas in a foul off-yellow fluid. The two halves of the ant writhed on the ground, the ant flattened as its content oozed on the rocky ground.

The ant finally stopped moving, leaving a nauseating, sour stench of formic acid in the air. The smaller ants froze momentarily, before turning around and scurrying away from the dead ant. Lucas would worry about his lightheadedness and the fluid irritating his skin later. He advanced towards Ness, who managed somehow to dislodge the mandible and crawl away from the ant's corpse, leaving a thick trail of blood in his wake. He collapsed on his back again and watched the crimson pool around him with glazed eyes and shallow breathing.

"I can't breathe," Ness gasped, staring at the cave's stalagmitic ceiling with clouded eyes. He lifted his weak eyes towards Lucas, "Can't…"

"No, no, no, stay with me!" Lucas said frantically, dropping down to lift Ness' blood-drenched shirt and examine the hideous deep gash in his side. Ness looked down with vaguely afraid eyes.

"Am I gonna die, Lucas?" he mumbled indistinctly, as if he had just woken up. Lucas' breath caught in guilt. He wiped the sheen of sweat on Ness' forehead and grabbed his hand with a reassuring grip. He stared into the unfocused dark blue, almost purple eyes.

"You're not going to die, Ness," he said, willing his voice to be as firm as possible, "I… You will be all right."

He looked downwards, Ness was losing blood so fast, he was already showing signs of shock; the tips of his fingers had a bluish tinge and his face took an ashen hue. He remembered having an injury which healed itself somehow. Maybe if he just channelled what's left of his psychic powers into Ness' wound, it would close up.

Or he would kill Ness in the process.

The thought came to him as he placed his other hand on top of Ness' abdomen. He shook the idea out of his head, willing himself not to think much into it.

His hand glowed a faint shade of green. Lucas Lucas picked up Ness' hat and placed it back on the boy's head. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the image of Ness in his healthy self as Lucas usually saw him.

Lucas could feel the wound close up as he concentrated harder. It worked, but he was too slow. At this rate, Ness would bleed out before he closed up the wound. Lucas drove himself to pour more mental effort.

 _'_ _Don't leave me to die!'_

An image of a distraught Claus jumped into his mind as his mind reached its limit, before his senses went dark.

Lucas' eyes shot open with a gasp. One of his hands still firmly held Ness' hand, while the other one was on top of his now-unmarred stomach. Ness slowly propped himself on his elbows, hesitantly putting weight on his formerly injured muscles. His lower half was soaked with blood, as was Lucas. He looked up with bloodshot eyes, a single tear rolling down his cheek. Whatever dam he had in place finally broke as he burst in tears, clinging to Lucas for support. Lucas listened to Ness bawl and snivel on his shoulder. It was fairly undignified, but he wrapped his arms around Ness and rubbed soothing circles on his shaking back. Ness had nearly lost his life, and they were only kids, after all. They were not supposed to fight abominations of nature and nearly losing their lives. Ness was entitled to cry after what he'd been through, and Lucas didn't fault him for doing so one bit.

Ness cried his eyes out, yet Lucas couldn't bring himself to shed a single tear. He was too agitated to cry. Why did Tom Garrickson send them to this place? Did he know about the creatures living here?

If he did…

The penetrating stench from the cave and the dead ants was going to make him retch, and he was certain Ness was in worse shape. He stood up, helping Ness pull himself upright.

"Can you walk?" Lucas asked, placing a hand on Ness' back in case .

"I'll manage," Ness replied, wiping his face and putting a hand on his side as if it would suddenly open up again, "I just wanna get out of here."

They slowly staggered out from the cave into fresh air. The feeling of the morning breeze alone returned life into their step, trudging faster towards the footprint mark in the middle of the plateau they were on. The music they heard was similar to the one back in Fourside. Lucas took a deep breath, feeling exhaustion wash away from his being. A peculiar memory somehow found its way into his mind.

* * *

 _'_ _Claus, is that a puppy?'_

 _'_ _I found him at our doorstep this morning. Wonder how he ended up here.'_

 _'_ _So cute! But he looks hungry.'_

 _'_ _Yeah, so I gave him half my omelette.'_

 _'_ _Aw look, I think he likes it. Do you think mom will let us keep him? He's so skinny.'_

 _'_ _Yeah. Let's name him Boney, what do you think?'_

* * *

A slow clapping behind him roused Lucas from his memory. He whipped around to see a person he held a million and one questions for.

"Good job," Tom Garrickson said with a broad smile, "You guys put on one hell of a show."

"You!" Ness bared his teeth in a snarl, "You set us up, you son of a bitch!"

Ness' rage gave him enough strength to charge towards Tom Garrickson with every intent of pummelling the redhead beyond recognition. Lucas noticed Tom Garrickson did not leave a shadow behind him when he stepped into the sun, just like…

"Ness, wait," Lucas called out as Ness collided with Tom Garrickson, passing right through his form. He barely found enough time to brace his arms in front of him as he crashed into the hill's rocky face, ending up on the ground in a groaning heap.

"My, oh my," Tom Garrickson said, stuffing both hands into his pocket and shook his head in false pity, "That oughta hurt."

"Aren't you supposed to be in hospital?" Ness demanded.

"I left yesterday. Although you guys could use a hospital right now. You two are a total mess," Tom said, "I would have pitched in had things got too hairy, though."

"Right," Ness grunted, sitting up, "Because getting almost cut in half by a huge ant and nearly bleed out to death wasn't a 'hairy' enough situation."

"I'm glad you two managed to survive. I knew you would, but had you died…" he shrugged, "Doesn't matter anyway."

"You _knew_?" Lucas' eyes widened with betrayal and realization, "… So Ness wasn't mistaken about Fourside."

"Whoops," Tom gave him a mock apologetic grin, "Guess the jig is up. Yes, I tried awakening Ness' powers back at Fourside, but my attempts of triggering a near-death experience weren't enough, it seems. He needed a powerful enough trauma."

"Told you so," Ness said, then paused, "…My powers? What the hell are you talking about?"

Tom held his hands behind his back and straightened his shoulders. The playful smirk on his face betrayed the serious posture.

"Yes, your powers, Nessie. Congratulations, by the way."

The two shot him a quizzical look.

"For getting almost killed?" Lucas asked, revulsion apparent in his voice.

"For awakening his PSI powers, stupid," was Tom Garrickson's reply, "Don't tell me you missed how he flipped up that ugly thing on its back with his PSI."

"PSI?" Ness repeated, before his eyes widened as he gazed down at his hands, "I… did that?"

"Hm, but you're still too immature to use it efficiently," Tom said, examining his fingernails. He looked up with a quirked eyebrow, "But it would help if you named your psychic moves before you use them."

He paused to take in their confused stares, then continued, "For example, I'm willing to bet Lucas' ability is fuelled by friendship or love or some corny sentiment like that. Naming that sentiment out loud would concentrate his mental powers instead of wasting them on other thoughts."

"Why didn't you tell us that sooner?" Ness said, "And you didn't tell us your point of luring us up here."

"See this place, Nessie?" Tom Garrickson turned around to face Ness, "This is a unique place. It's one of the few places in the world where psychic powers converge. Those monsters you just fought used to be little bugs. Figure this would happen when they gorge on that much energy. I would tell you the whole story, but I have a… special guest to tend to."

"What?" Ness yelled, "Forget your special guest. I need answers!"

"Oh?" Tom Garrickson gave him a pout, "But I would hate to leave little Tracy unattended."

Ness' already paled face took an alabaster hue. He willed himself to stand up and flashed Tom Garrickson a menacing scowl.

"I swear to God, Garrickson," he said through clenched teeth, "If you do as much as touch a hair on my sister, I will make you pay."

"Bit late to say that, but don't take my word for it." As Tom said that, Ness' phone rang in his backpack. Ness bent down and picked up his phone, while Tom Garrickson turned around to face a frozen Lucas.

"What's the meaning of this?" Ness demanded. Tom Garrickson rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Please. It's just a lucky coincidence," he said. "Go on, pick up."

Ness stared at the screen before he apprehensively took the call.

"Hello?" he said, "Hi mom… I… I'm, uh, still at Lucas' house. W-why are you crying?"

The other two could hear Ness' mother shriek hysterically from her son's phone, " _Tracy's not home!_ "

As Ness tried calming down his anguished mother, Tom Garrickson looked up towards Lucas, who gazed back in confusion. Tom nodded, then disappeared from sight. Ness slowly brought down his phone from his ear. He looked down with wide eyes.

"Tracy…" he murmured to himself then stuffed his phone back in his pocket. He started towards the cave, before his body finally gave in, crumpling on the dewy ground. Lucas hurried to his side.

"Are you alright?" he asked with concern. Ness lifted himself on wobbly arms and gave him a livid scowl.

"Alright?" he hissed, "I was almost gutted and my sister has been kidnapped. How the hell am I supposed to be…"

He slumped back onto the ground, "… I can't move."

"Ness—"

"I can't move," Ness shakily gritted his teeth as he weakly banged the ground with a fist, "Dammit."

Lucas looked around him, pausing at the dark cave in front of him. Staying here would be dangerous if the smaller ants regrouped, and they couldn't risk being seen looking half-dead. He helped Ness up for the second time.

"We should get out of here," he said, "You're burning up. You should probably rest."

Might as well try Tom Garrickson's suggestion.

"Teleport," he whispered. They disappeared from the cliff in an instant.

* * *

When they appeared back in his room, Lucas helped Ness sit on the bed, then disappeared into his closet. He emerged, holding a few neatly-folded clothing items in his arms. He set down the change of clothes next to Ness.

"We're not going anywhere looking like we've been in hell and back," Lucas said, crouching down to meet Ness' eye level, "I think those will fit you."

Ness only looked at the change of clothes and crossed his arms. Lucas fully knew how distressed Ness was at the moment, which did not help the feelings of guilt crushing him. He sighed and returned back to the closet room. He shimmied out of his blood-stained clothes and into fresh ones. He would wipe off the crusted blood and insect fluids on his skin with a napkin later, since he didn't feel like taking the time to shower despite feeling thoroughly disgusted.

When he returned back to his room, he found Ness still on his bed with his hands in his lap.

"Why haven't you changed your clothes?" Lucas asked. Ness looked away with a faint blush.

"I… I can't."

"Ness, I don't mind you wearing my clothes, there's nothing wrong with—"

"I said, I can't," Ness interrupted him. He would've flushed a redder shade if he had enough blood in his system. Lucas took a better look at Ness. His hat was on the ground, and his hair was dishevelled, specked with blood and dirt that wasn't there before.

"Oh." Lucas realized Ness must have tried changing his clothes, but was too exhausted and weak to do so. He approached Ness and shot him a questioning look. Ness answered with a sigh and a resigned nod.

It was weird to help Ness disrobe and wear new clothes, but Lucas willed himself to remember the times when he helped Alec into his pyjamas when he drank himself sick, or when Claus broke his arm and needed help changing his shirt. Once the ordeal was over, Ness' former clothes laid on the floor. Lucas pushed the bloodied rags under his bed, planning on disposing of them later. He glanced back at Ness, who anxiously tugged at the yellow-and-teal sleeve he was currently wearing.

"I'm worried about Tracy, and I need to go to mom," Ness said, "She's probably alone and worried sick, and I don't want to leave her that way."

"We'll go once you're able to walk."

"There is no time for that," Ness protested.

"And you shouldn't worry your mom further with looking like you're about to drop dead," Lucas reasoned, "Just give it a few minutes, and we'll go there afterwards. Okay?"

Ness fell on his back and sighed, closing his eyes, "Fair enough."

He was silent for a while, which left Lucas to ruminate on what happened earlier, particularly the telepathic message Tom Garrickson said while Ness spoke to his mother.

 _'_ _Hey, Lucas. I know you won't trust me on this one, but Tracy is hidden in Peaceful Rest Valley. I can't say more, but you should begin your search there.'_

Lucas had every reason to disbelieve him, indeed. But sincerity was hard to fake if they spoke at a telepathic level. Lucas himself couldn't hide his anger and distress. He wondered how he couldn't read Tom Garrickson's memories of being the culprit at Fourside or his intentions to kidnap Tracy earlier. Lucas held his head in his hands and let out a frustrated groan. He opened his mouth to ask for Ness' opinion, but he stopped when he saw Ness' chest rise and fall slowly.

 _It's probably for the best he'd rest for a bit_ , Lucas thought. He sat on the desk and rummaged absently through his drawers. His hand picked an old, broad atlas from one of the drawers. He set it in front of him and opened it to browse Eagleland's map. He turned the page to 'Northwestern Eagleland' and glanced at the map. Onett and Twoson were defined clearly in the map with bold squares, red lines approximated the road map around the two towns. Peaceful Rest Valley lied a few miles eastwards from Twoson, although there were no roads leading there thanks to an imposing mountain separating the two places.

Lucas grew bored. He wasn't sure what to look for, before his eyes fell on a small text, barely visible within the valley. Lucas' eyes widened; he could read the name of Tom Garrickson's birthplace.

Youngtown.

* * *

 **A/N: Not sure what to think of this chapter. This is the first time I write 'actioney' scenes, so I'm not sure how passable/cringeworthy was it. I rewrote it a few times before I thought it wasn't horrid.**

 **Have a nice holiday. Go hang socks on the Christmas tree or something to take off the un-holidayish feel of this chapter. XD**

 **Ahem... Review responses:**

 _ **Ender2142:**_

 **I had no idea you could browse the Internet on a 3DS! Never owned one, but that's a cool tidbit to know. XD**

 **I think Boney II was last seen in chapter 2 and never showed up afterwards. Guess it was an opportunity to show him back again.**

 **Well, Bayonetta was a weird choice, but any Earthbound character would be essentially a Ness/Lucas clone. Too many clones exist in the SSB roster already, though.**

 **The Minches are consistently portrayed that way in fan fiction. I think it's too good a mould to break, since they're really awful in the game. Especially Porky and Aloysius. Those two are real pieces of work.**

 **Feliz Navidad. That was a Fairy funny pun there. :P**

 _ **Connor the speling pro:**_

 **I fell asleep at 'chain rule'. XD I agree theoretical science can be quite boring, but it's still part of the academic baggage, sadly. Enjoy generous grading policies while you can, because you'll invariably run into a hard-assed professor who thinks a student getting as much as a B in their course is a grievous insult. Those types exist. :/**

 **Yeah, I tend to overthink motives all the time. When the actual reason presents itself I'd go like: 'That's it?' XD**

 **It's hard not to stray from the archetypical dysfunctional family to put in the Minches. I was going to make a moment where Pokey feels bad and actually follows with covering Picky with a blanket and being genuinely distressed over the possibility of being kidnapped, but I figured it's very out of character for Pokey. The kid's supposed to be self-serving and selfish.**

 **Any cliffhanger is only fair after the weekly ones you and Fox dish out in TD. xD Which reminds me, next chapter should come out soon! :D**

 **You're right. I think it might have needed a bit more description there. I don't know how caves look like, but I hear they tend to be humid, mouldy and a few degrees chillier than the outside. I'll edit this into the previous chapter.**

 _ **PSIBoy:**_

 **Hey. :)**

 **Yep, I can't think of the Minches in any positive light, but I think Connor at least depicted Lardna in a reasonable light. Picky tends to be the anomaly, both in canon and fanfiction, which reinforces the point of not generalizing bad backgrounds = bad people.**

 **Tom Garrickson is a weird character with a lengthy background which I haven't touched upon for some time, so it's a bit overdue. I can relate about mysteries. I tend to hate mysteries because I _want_ to know. Curiosity feels like a really nasty itch, so no wonder they drive me nuts.**

 **I think a major drive behind Lucas' friendship with Ness is his inability to read his mind. It's like being a normal kid and having normal friends. Except neither two are normal, but that's not the point. I get what you mean about Lucas' trust of Tom Garrickson and why he didn't find out more about Giant Step, but I guess there isn't much to look up about it other than finding out.**

 **Writing the Titanic Ant part wasn't easy at all. I need to step up my action scenes game. ._.**

 **Thanks. Have a terrific day/night.**


	17. Chapter 17 - No Rest for the Wicked

**Chapter 17 - No Rest for the Wicked**

 **Fourside, Eagleland**

 **Three Years Ago**

"Ay. Look me in the eye when I'm talking to you!"

A pudgy kid with beady eyes yelled at a downcast little boy with red hair. The boy lifted his head to meet the other's gaze. He registered how the bigger kid flinched slightly at his gaze.

"Weirdo," the boy hissed in disgust, before landing a backhanded slap on the redhead's face. The force of the blow forced his head to face sideways. The redhead held this posture, fully knowing looking back would earn him another smack. He heard footsteps stomp away from him, signalling the other kid had walked away. The redhead looked back and saw a blond boy whom he'd never met before stare at him with horrified eyes.

 _Ah. New kid_ , he thought to himself. It was always like that; a new kid would come in and get shocked at the maltreatment the redhead received. All of them would occasionally give him sympathetic faces, before merging into the indifferent crowd. He was sure this kid would be no different.

For Tom Garrickson, fifteen years of living in the orphanage made it a rather common occurrence. He gave the blond boy an empathetic smile and walked away. At least he hoped the new kid wouldn't grow to bully him like how Trent did.

He stopped in the hallway to eye his reflection in a large mirror on the wall, taking in the small red-haired, swarthy boy with brilliant, green eyes that were a little big for his face. No matter what facial expression he put on, his eyes naturally held a sharp, piercing gaze — to him, perhaps his most repelling feature, beside looking half his age. He tugged at his oversized sleeves and stepped away from the mirror before the nuns scolded him.

* * *

Tom Garrickson's looks didn't change much since he was eight, anyway. His reflection in the mirror remained the same ever since he had his first 'attack'. He would've come up with a more exact name had he got a better command of describing things like periodic episodes of excruciating pain. The first time it happened, he held onto sister Claire's arm with a vice grip. Sister Claire was a very elderly nun, whose back had bent with the years. The cross she wore dangled almost as an extension of the sagging, wrinkly skin on the front of her neck. He liked that woman, since she was the only person that did not treated him like a pariah, but when he came to hear her ear-splitting screaming after most of the pain had dissipated, he realized he'd managed to break her wrist.

Since then, he would wake up almost every night to the same dream, followed by blinding pain all over his body. The dream was always constant — visions of a small slate-roofed house, a faceless woman leaning over his crib to kiss him goodnight, and weird places that transitioned rapidly before his eyes. His growth had effectively flatlined as well. Tom Garrickson wasn't even sure whether he'd hit puberty, since everyone his age now towered over him. Being on the smallish side when he was little only amplified the size gap between him and his peers. He wouldn't sit with younger children who'd bully him anyway, so he always sat alone in the library at his favorite table, watching the other kids go about their business. They said humans were social creatures that thrived on contact with others, but he was probably an anomaly. Not that solitude bothered him.

Then, a few years afterwards, the old machines contacted him.

It happened right after one of his nightly 'episodes'. He lied on his bed, taking in controlled breaths in an attempt to quell his trembling. He got up on wobbly legs and took a single step forward, only for his legs to fail him. He landed back on the bed, causing the rigid mattress to squeak in protest over the unceremonious weight. He sensed a sudden presence in front of him. Prayer wasn't a habit of his, but if this was the grim reaper, he prayed he would give up the ghost quickly.

A noisy electronic garble surprised him into looking up. He was face to face with a tall, silver man with a lean frame and a visor that obscured his head. Upon closer inspection, Tom Garrickson realized the arms tapered off in smooth points. Was this thing even human?

The visor gleamed under the moonlight as the strange being lifted one of its slender arms.

"Obey," it said in a flat, robotic voice. Tom blinked, before his body acted on its own and rose up.

 _'What the…'_ he tried to speak, but his jaw was clamped uncomfortably on his tongue. He couldn't breathe, move his face nor blink, yet his thoughts were still his own. His body took a few stiff paces towards the tall humanoid, before it stopped.

"Subject is confirmed. an unstable PSI-capable human," it spoke in its unmodulated, even tone, "Age, fourteen years old. Requesting affirmation."

Tom Garrickson could only stare forwards into the metallic exterior of the machine in front of him. He was desperate for breath and his drying eyes were killing him. He noticed the black badges in a strange language adorning the robot's chest and specks of rust covering its body, before a high-pitched whine pierced his eardrums.

The invisible hold on his body vanished, and Tom fell on his knees, gulping lungfuls of air. Once he quenched his burning need for air, he stood up and took a glance around him. He was no longer in his room. Instead, he was in a frigid, almost featureless metal-walled hall. Tom felt the heat escape his body through his bare feet and the light clothing he wore. He pulled his arms close around his torso in an attempt to keep out the cold.

The robot which brought him here strode forward, joining a row of identical machines that stood motionlessly at the exit. He turned around to find a gigantic contraption with a circular eye in its center, and intestine-like tubes going in and out from it. The pulsing, semi-organic appearance of the device struck primal terror and revulsion in his heart. He wanted to be anywhere but near that thing. He took a step backwards, before one of the robots appeared in front of the machine. It towered over the others in height. Its shoulders were adorned with broad spikes, and the badges on its chest were red instead of the standard black. It still looked weathered and rusted like the rest of the other machines. The scary machine's eye glowed. Tom Garrickson's surroundings suddenly disappeared, leaving nothing but the reptilian eye fixing him with a dead gaze. Blood-red threads filled the darkness around him, converging around the eye into a disfigured, inhuman skull.

' ** _I apologize if the starmen scared you, human,_** ' the alien inside the machine spoke with a booming, flanging voice, **_'And I apologize for the abrupt meeting, but I am not known to bear with formalities.'_**

Tom Garrickson looked on with terrified eyes. _What is that thing?_

 ** _'Although I no longer hold a name,'_** the alien said as if it read his thoughts, ** _'I used to be called Giygas.'_**

"W-what do you want from me?"

 ** _'You are special, child._** ** _You and I… We are very similar.'_**

"Similar, how?"

The pupil of the eye inside the skull tightened into a vertical slit.

 ** _'Have you ever wondered about the pain you endure every night, human?_** ** _Ever wondered where did your ability to teleport come from?'_**

Tom gasped, _It knew? How?_

 ** _'For my people, it is as natural as breathing. We called it psionics, and we control it at will.'_**

Tom blinked in confusion. How come he could do it, then?

Giygas seemed to have read his thoughts again, **_'You humans stole our abilities a long time ago. It is better if I showed you instead of retelling the whole story.'_**

Through the giant eye, Tom Garrickson saw vivid flashes of a young woman caring for a juvenile, silver-bodied alien, a young man escaping an enormous space station with eight crystals in his hold, the same man again, this time many years older, walking around various places and disseminating each one of the crystals in specific locations. Finally, a PSI-charged confrontation between the now-adult alien and three children; a girl and two boys, before the children dropped their hostile stance and began singing, causing the alien to retreat back into its capsule, leaving Earth.

The flow of images ended, jerking Tom Garrickson back to reality. He looked up at the alien. Whatever those visions meant, they only added more to his confusion. Who would escape from singing children?

"So… Am I like those children?" Tom asked, "Can I shoot fire from my hands like that girl?"

 ** _'Yes, and no,'_** Giygas answered, ** _'I told you, human. You are unique.'_**

"…How so?"

 ** _'For humans to activate their PSI powers, they must go through a near-death experience.'_**

"But I don't remember almost dying."

 ** _'You didn't have to.'_**

Tom grew tired of Giygas' half-answers. This whole encounter was surreal, so he concluded this was just a hallucination. Yes, this was all some messed up nightmare after an unusually painful attack. However, his freezing feet and the sound of his own trembling heartbeat proved too real. He shot the alien skull figure a tired gaze, as if to get on to the point already.

 ** _'Your PSI abilities are not your own. The shock of existing in another body is traumatic enough. To put it concisely, you are a chimera, Tom Garrickson.'_**

 _A what?_

"What's a key-may-ra?" he asked. The alien seemed satisfied with his confusion.

 ** _'You were supposed to have a twin. That twin was supposed to bear psionic abilities too, but your bodies merged early on when you were in your mother's womb. Your heart and probably half of your organs do not belong to you.'_**

"…" Tom Garrickson tried to wrap his head around the information. That sort of thing could happen?

 ** _'So your twin's PSI acts like a rejected organ,'_** Giygas continued, **_'Your body and psionics are perpetually in conflict in attempt to overpower each other. At this rate of destruction, your body won't last long past your teens.'_**

Tom Garrickson looked down at his own body as if he saw it for the first time.

 _I'm dying?_

Something about not having to worry about the future made him feel at peace. He was certain he'd never find a permanent family. The revelation he wouldn't last long after leaving foster care was oddly comforting.

In the meantime, he might as well make himself useful.

He lifted his chin towards the alien.

"What do you want from me?" he asked with newfound poise. The mangled skull that called itself Giygas broke free from the eye and hovered towards him, its vacant eye sockets meeting the human's eyes.

 ** _'I will stabilize your power. In exchange, I need your help in order to free myself._ '**

* * *

A trio of loud boys walked into Tom Garrickson's peripheral vision. He spotted the new kid unsurely tailing behind them as if he didn't want to be there. He heard the kid was a recently orphaned foreigner. Where was he from again? Somewhere in Foggyland? Tom Garrickson knew he shouldn't care, seeing the kid already hung out with those lot.

There was an initiation ritual of some sort, in which the kids forced a new, unassuming child to sit with him. He'd developed an effective defense against their antics: Stare the newcomer down, not exactly in the eye, but a little off. Maybe at the point between their eyebrows, then he would busy his mind with keeping his face neutral. It gave off the illusion of a scrutinizing, unfriendly glare, and the hapless dopes usually turned on their heels before they even sat down next to him.

He noticed the new kid already standing across from his table, the unexpected proximity jarred him to focus his eyes. The boy bit his lip nervously before he placed his things on the table and sat down next to him.

"Can I sit here?" he said, not looking at the seated redhead.

Tom Garrickson stared back with buggy eyes and a gaping mouth.

"Um, sure." Tom's voice sounded unpleasantly raspy. He cleared his throat and repeated, "Sure."

Gosh, when was the last time he spoke? Using his vocal cords pained him. The blond mouthed a 'thanks' and propped his head on his elbow. He was silent for a long while.

"You could watch the whole library from here," the blond spoke up, "Smart choice of seats."

Tom quirked an eyebrow. Kid was observant. He only hummed in reply. The blond tilted his head towards him.

"What's your name?"

 _Why would you care?_

"…Tom."

"Just Tom?"

"Garrickson."

"Nice to meet you, Tom Garrickson," the blond said with a smile Tom deemed genuine enough, "I'm Lucas."

In hindsight, it would've been a good comeback to ask 'Just Lucas?', but Tom Garrickson was awful at talking to people; he just nodded instead. Lucas seemed to realize the redhead wasn't much of a conversationalist, even though he didn't look like a chatty person himself.

"You can leave if you don't wanna sit here," Tom said carefully. Lucas shrugged.

"Trent is… fine, but he's too loud," he said, "I'd rather stay here."

Tom refused to admit he was touched someone preferred his company, but allowed a small smile. Only then he took notice of Lucas' peculiar accent.

"A-are you from Winters?" he asked then silently cursed himself for stuttering. If Lucas noticed, he ignored the redhead's halting speech.

"No, I'm from Nowhere Islands," he replied, "And you? Where are you from?"

"Youngtown."

"Hm. I don't know where is that, but all right."

They hardly spoke at all afterwards, but it was much more comfortable than chatting about nothing in particular. Tom Garrickson wondered if that is what 'companionable silence' meant. When Lucas left, he gave the redhead an awkward pat on the back, before standing up and leaving the room. Tom's eyes followed the boys as he left.

That night, Tom Garrickson had an uninterrupted sleep.

* * *

"Free you?" Tom cried out incredulously. The skull snaked around him, leaving more crimson veins in its wake.

 ** _'Of course. I might have become… corrupted after my defeat so many years ago. I posed a danger on my home planet, so they returned me here. I no longer have interest in Earth, so I'm planning my escape.'_**

The human looked down and crossed his arms.

"If I'm going to die soon, tell me why should I care enough to do your bidding?"

The threads grabbed his chin, jerking his head towards the skull.

 ** _'You have little choice, child. You are only a visible, easy way out. Whether I vaporized you or not makes little difference. I have all the time in the universe to leave this planet and wreak revenge on my own. I will extend your life and give you purpose. I shall be the support you would never have once you exit the orphanage you live in.'_**

A wry thought crossed his mind. _Great. I'm so much of a misfit, only aliens will bother with me, and that's with a lot of strings attached._ Tom Garrickson shot Giygas a tired smirk.

"Then, what am I supposed to do?" he asked. At least Giygas didn't seem annoyed by his question. Could an insane alien even be annoyed?

 ** _'I would have let you destroy this machine yourself, but your unstable PSI makes it a dangerous gamble. I want you to find a stable, PSI-capable human. My weakened starmen are incapable of shapeshifting, and your unbalanced PSI jams their radars. Otherwise, it would have been an easy mission to find other viable psychics.'_**

 _He wants me to do their footwork. That's what Giygas meant by me being a 'visible' easy way out, huh?_ Tom Garrickson thought. The dark void and the red threads surrounding him faded, replaced with the massive hall where the disgusting half-alive machine was placed.

The big starman, which had been standing motionlessly in front of the massive machine broke its stiff pose, closing its distance between itself and the human. Its visor flicked to life as a shower of telepathic messages flooded Tom's brain.

Tom Garrickson absorbed the new abilities with surprising ease. PK this…, PK that… Then he realized he could see past the starman's visor, into its artificial PSI core. The thing had several times his power and retained a great deal of untold abilities, yet it was in a 'weak' state. Tom shuddered, wondering what would it be like if the starmen retained their full power.

* * *

Tom Garrickson seldom ventured out of the orphanage building. He questioned the alien's wisdom of choosing an isolated person like himself to do the hunt for psychics, since the psionic vision Giygas' old machines imparted in him found no 'viable targets' so far.

' _Bear in mind that psionic powers in humans do not survive for long past puberty if remained inactive,'_ or so the machines told him. At least they had the decency to point out where to look.

Sneaking out at night proved easy thanks to teleportation when he was stable enough. He would walk in the streets of Lower Fourside, find one child or two in their houses, then he would watch them. A psychic child would give off a 'glow' in their bodies when Tom activated his psionic vision, but he yet had to find one of those glowing children for the starmen to whisk away. Whatever Giygas wanted to do with the children was none of his business; he only did so in return for stabilizing his own power and stopping it from destroying his body from within.

During the day, he found himself spending more time following Lucas around like a lost puppy. The ten-year old was as much of a loner as he was; Lucas avoided the crowds of loud boys and girls like the plague. Tom Garrickson fully knew the Islander was a psychic like him, and a mind reader at that, evident from that indescribable feeling of being read when he watched Lucas with his psionic vision. Tom Garrickson's reaction was only to hide his thoughts behind a fake cover of happier thoughts. The rush of being able to lie to a mind reader was great every time Lucas was around him. Still, he would never 'turn in' Lucas to Giygas' machines; he cared too much for the kid to do that to him.

The orphanage had communal showers, since the children rooms consisted of only three beds and a desk. Tom Garrickson was an exception, having his own room. He always lagged behind in the showers in order to change alone, so he would keep comments on his small build to a minimum. When the last of the boys had left, he exited his shower stall towards his closet and began drying himself. The room was silent save for the sound of him shuffling clothes. He paused after pulling on his underwear. His PSI alerted him to someone's presence nearby. He glanced behind his back at a slim, louvered door where cleaning supplies were usually stowed inside a narrow cabinet.

 _Isn't that the janitor?_ he thought as he busied himself with his jeans. What was the janitor doing, cooped up in such a tiny space? He froze when he heard the cabinet door behind him click open. Although Tom was half-hidden behind the locker, he dared not look behind, even when the heavy breathing crept closer. Only when clammy hands felt their way on his bare sides, Tom Garrickson threw a fist around, ramming it into the pervert's nose. The man let out a stream of curses, clutching his bloodied nose. Tom took it as a chance to run away. He made it past the janitor, before a rough hand seized him by the leg, causing him to fall flat on his stomach. Tom Garrickson twisted onto his back, his eyes widened in horror at the wolfish grin the janitor tossed him.

The locker room door swung open, letting in a familiar blond boy who was frantically gesturing to a nun.

"I'm telling you, Sister. The janitor always hides…"

Lucas' words died in his throat as he took in the sight of Tom Garrickson on the floor with his pants down to his knees, the janitor hoisting him by the ankle. The nun drew in a sharp breath, hiding half of her face with both hands.

"Oh, my _God!_ " she shrieked.

* * *

In time, Lucas finally found himself a family. Tom was elated for the Tazmilite, but he couldn't deny the tightening feeling in his chest when he watched on as Sister Helen paraded the boy to meet his future adoptive parents.

 _I shouldn't be sad,_ he thought to himself, _I've been on my own all my life, and Lucas was just a passing face._

Yet the thought of Lucas no longer being around left him with an empty feeling in his chest. He later found Lucas alone with his back turned to him. Tom decided to send the boy off with something he could use to find him later. He walked up to the ten-year old and tapped his shoulder.

"I know you can read minds," Tom Garrickson said tersely once Lucas turned around. The boy gaped at him.

"Uh, beg your pardon?" Lucas said after a silent minute.

Tom Garrickson sighed. He tip-toed and grabbed the back of Lucas' neck, jerking him down to meet his eyes.

"I want you to read my mind, Lucas," Tom Garrickson said slowly. He wasn't sure if it would work, but he focused his PSI on to Lucas'. He placed knowledge of his teleportation PSI into Lucas' mind, and marked it with the psionic vision Giygas gave to him. He opened his eyes in time to see a shellshocked Lucas.

"What was... _That_?" Lucas murmured breathlessly.

"Consider it a goodbye gift," Tom Garrickson said, giving him a broad smile, "Thank you, Lucas. And Good luck."

"Wait. What was that supposed to mean?"

"You'll know later," he replied, before walking away.

Tom Garrickson rounded a corner, not minding the foot stuck out in his path. His legs tangled with it, causing him to land on all fours. He heard chuckles next to him.

"Too easy," Trent guffawed.

Tom Garrickson got up and threw Trent a blank look. He loathed the way Trent treated him like dirt, yet he acted nice towards anyone else. Tom Garrickson narrowed his eyes into slits, making a vertical crease between in his eyebrows.

"What," Trent sneered, "Why are you looking at me like this, weirdo?"

Tom Garrickson pressed two fingers to Trent's stomach, not breaking eye contact with the kid.

"Teleport," he hissed. Trent shot him a confused look, before he suddenly vanished into thin air. Trent wasn't a psychic by any means, but Tom Garrickson would leave it to the starmen to deal with the 'accidental' delivery.

"Why haven't I done this sooner?" Tom said, not having it in him to be happy or sad for his tormentor's disappearance, before returning to his room. He flopped down on his bed and hid his face in his sheets, finally allowing the tears to flow.

For the first time since he could remember, Tom Garrickson cried.

* * *

True to its (his?) words, Giygas proved to be reliable support once Tom had aged out of the foster system, enough to get himself enrolled in a community college located in some small town away from Fourside. Whatever Giygas did to his PSI worked, since the episodes of night pains became more sporadic. He even grew up a little. At least he looked more like a teenager and less like a scrawny child now. A few months after his eighteenth birthday, Tom Garrickson finally located Lucas when the latter used his teleportation ability for the first time, unwittingly giving away his location.

Lucas was in Onett, after all. That's basically down the street from Twoson, where he lived. Tom Garrickson went there a few days later, searching for Lucas through his PSI. Much to his surprise, his search found him not one, but two psychics. Right inside the school building across the street. He stood in front of the school for what seemed to be ages, before a distant sound of bells jerked him back from his thoughts. He looked up to see hordes of children leaving school by bus or on foot. Recognition sparked in his eyes when he spotted Lucas, now considerably — enviably — grown up, walking out of the school building. He was about to happily follow Lucas, but when he spotted the other PSI-bearer, Lucas somehow receded into the back of his mind.

The other psychic was another boy. Completely unremarkable, with his red baseball cap, jet-black hair and striped shirt. While Lucas could be an intense presence, Tom Garrickson could place that kid in a crowd and lose him within a second. Only the similarity to one of the children from Giygas' visions made the otherwise-normal stranger more peculiar. He must be unaware of his own abilities, no doubt. Tom Garrickson stuffed his hands in his pockets and followed the boy, keeping his distance. The boy unwittingly led him north of the town and up a hilly road. Tom hid himself behind a tree and watched the boy trek towards a small house and knock the door.

The door opened, revealing a blonde woman, who greeted the boy with a hug upon seeing him. Tom momentarily forgot how to breathe, the dream that always haunted him rushed through his mind with full force. The same slate-roofed house, and the same woman bending down to kiss him goodnight. This time, she had a face. _That_ woman is got to be _his_ mother.

Psychics aren't supposed to be allowed a normal family. How come that kid had a mother in the first place?

"This is unfair," Tom Garrickson hissed, strangling the air with his fists. That boy was cursed with being a psychic, yet he had a healthy body, a loving mother and a seemingly normal life, while Tom had been deprived of that.

Envy screwed his face into a grim scowl.

He found himself creeping closer to the house before he could stop his brooding thoughts from clouding his judgement. He _needed_ to find out more about that boy. He looked around for any onlookers, before stepping towards the small house. He found a curtained balcony door at the side where he saw the woman walk into the living room and sit down on a couch.

"Ness," she called, "Wash your hands before you touch the food, sweetie."

He heard a distant 'okay' from the kitchen. The boy's name was Ness, huh? A soft rustling noise at his feet caused him to look down, where a wet nose twitched at the glass in front of his shoe. A big sheepdog lied under the curtains obscuring Tom Garrickson from the house residents, its little eyes fixed him with a hostile glare.

"No, no," he hissed, making a placating gesture with his hands, "Good doggy. Don't b—"

 _"WOOF!"_

Tom cursed the mutt and stepped back, only to trip on a rounded object and fall down on his rear. Hard.

"King?" he heard the mother's concerned voice, "What's the matter?"

 _Shit._

The woman pulled the curtain and looked down at the growling dog, who raised its hackles at the boy in the backyard. She gave him a confused stare.

"Erm," he flailed for an excuse, before grabbing the thing he tripped on and presenting it to the woman, "Sorry, I, uh, my ball fell down here," he said, his voice coming out an octave higher than he normally spoke. The woman's expression softened into a sympathetic smile.

"Sorry if the dog scared you," she said. He got up and dusted himself off.

"No-no-no, it's fine," he said quickly behind his back as he ran out from the house and down the hill. He stopped only when he reached the library, panting for breath.

"That was close," he murmured. His youngish looks worked in his favor for a change. He glanced at the baseball in his grip, before stuffing it in his pocket.

* * *

 **Days later**

Tom Garrickson appeared in Giygas' lair. He barged into the massive hall, kicking aside the rusty starman that stood guard at the gate. He strode across the hall towards the machine which trapped Giygas inside it, before he called on to the alien.

He was at his wits' end. He'd been following Ness for days, trying to trigger a near-death response in the boy. He tried dropping the boy inside a drago nest, and when that failed he tried choking him with his own pillow. Both attempts failed miserably.

When the alien's telepathic presence made itself known, Tom Garrickson told it about the two psychics he'd found, intentionally leaving out the small detail about knowing one beforehand.

 ** _'Interesting,'_** was all what Giygas had to say.

"Your starmen know a PSI move that allows the user to take over a psychic's body," Tom said, nervously twirling his fingers.

 ** _'Oh?'_**

"Y-you said you only needed one PSI-capable human," he said a little quickly, "If I bring those two, I want to take one of their bodies instead of my own."

The alien was silent for a long while.

 ** _'This sounds_** **…** ** _reasonable,'_** Giygas said, before severing the telepathic link. Tom Garrickson stood in his place, eyeing the demonic machine with barely-concealed malice, before turning away.

He will make Ness activate his PSI somehow, then he would take the kid's body and shed away his own failing one. It's never too late to become normal, but he wasn't going to trust Giygas on keeping his word.

* * *

For that very reason, Tom Garrickson decided to go through with his half-thought plan. He approached one of the derelict, low-ranked starmen that stood guard in front of some long-vacated room — the one where he hid Ness' sister. All starmen had the same knowledge of PSI, yet varying amount of energy that prohibited them from using every 'move' they knew. Tom Garrickson grabbed the tall robot by the spindly arms and toppled its rusty frame to the ground. He lifted his fist in the air and smashed the dark visor on its face. A triumphant grin crossed his face, ignoring the blood trickling from his knuckles.

Tom Garrickson forcibly tapped into the starman's knowledge. He knew he was straining his unstable powers to a dangerous level, but he only needed to do so for a short time, until he found the ability he desired.

"Yes!" he hissed in victory and got up, before the starman under him let out a high-pitched electronic screech as it self-destructed. Tom Garrickson felt something spark behind his eyes, before he sank on knees and collapsed next to the defunct robot.

* * *

 **A/N: I think I've kept Tom Garrickson's story in the dark way too long, enough to warrant a chapter to explain some of his background. I hope it didn't sound too much like a haphazard info-dump because that kind of chapters is the worst.**

 **Some biology information: Genetic chimerism means having cells with different DNA due to the merger of two zygotes, ending up with two genotypes. Most commonly, the visible variations are subtle like having two blood types. You _could_ be a chimera without knowing it, although the chances of being one are extremely rare. It could be inconvenient if you happen to be a chimera and wanted to prove your children are yours. (As in the case of one American woman who applied for child support, only to be charged of fraud).**

 **Bits of trivia aside, this is most likely my last post for the year, so Happy New Year, people! :D I hope 2016 would be an awesome year for everyone.**

 **Review responses:**

 ** _Ender2142 :_**

 **"Thank goodNess", eh? I don't think readers of this fandom would ever see this suffix in a normal light again. XD I always appreciate a good pun. Let's just say a pun is its own reword. *rimshot***

 **I'm glad you empathised with Lucas, since I kinda thought I skimmed over the guilt part, but I'm happy to see it reached some readers.**

 **Smash 5? I think if they make that, Nintendo would be teetering dangerously towards 'milking the hell out of their franchises'. Some games lose their ring after the nth instalment.**

 **Bug phobia is nothing bad, really. I know a friend who otherwise doesn't fear a lot of things, but put a spider in front of him, and he would yell 'SPIDER' at the top of his lungs and run away. Makes for mean (but somewhat funny) pranks.**

 **Feliz año nuevo. Uh, Prosit Neujahr? Erm, can't find a "punnable" New Year greeting. XD**

 ** _Connor the speling pro:_**

 **Some teachers are worse than the plague, I swear. XD I know what you mean. Motives made me rewrite this chapter a few times. It's tough to come up with believable motives/casus belli for the antagonists in particular.**

 **I agree, overly scripted action scenes can be boring. A reader would want to have it happen according to their imagination. Internal monologue is good because it would give great insight into the character's opinion on the fight/brawl/ordeal, but sometimes a character's internal monologue would be so taken over by fight-or-flight that it is either** **a single stream of profanities** **or 'I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die'.**

 **Yeah. I get it. I'm unoriginal *cries and hides in a trash can***

 **...Kidding. :P I'd actually be floored if I was the first ever to come up with a plot twist. And 'Mistborn' reminds me of a card game set I saw a while back. Not sure if it belongs to the same series, though. I could be wrong.**

 ** _Phoesong:_**

 **To hear such positive feedback from someone who writes one of my favourite fanfics on this website. Wow, thank you very much. ^_^**

 **Well, Tom Garrickson's name sounds Old English because 'Garrick' _is_ an Old English name. (A quick Google search reveals it means 'spear-ruler'). I didn't come up with it, since the character exists as a nameless baby from Youngtown with the same last name from Earthbound Beginnings. I only took the father's name, who liked to introduce himself anyway. **

**Yeah, I think I did push the point that Tom Garrickson's eyes are green. I used it as an identification cue when he tried his antics on Ness. I don't know about Claus' eye colour being green. Neither twins have official eye colors, but Lucas' eyes were blue in Brawl, and his 'Claus' palette swap there didn't change the eye color. I guess it's a fan interpretation based on how some chimeras have green-and-red eyes (I guess?) I wouldn't tell the difference anyway. *shrug***

 **I think I would want to keep from more action scenes, or until I figure out how to write passable ones. I agree emotional scenes are easier to write than fight scenes.**

 **Yep. Tracy worked as the depot girl for Ness and co. during the game. She would offload unwanted items (like Jeff's broken pipes) for 19 bucks per transaction, if I remember right. Yeah, her role would still be larger than what she did back at the game. I think next chapter will put her situation in the spotlight somewhat. :P**

 **Yeah, it was a safe bet on Giygas. I wouldn't want to come up with too many OCs, especially if an already good villain is at hand. I mean, isn't this the point of fanfiction?**

 **True, Pokey is stereotypically depicted as a thorough nasty person, but I think he's just an extremely impressionable kid who was exposed to a horrible environment that moulded him to be bad Hold up... You have something planned for Pokey in your next chapter? ARE WE GONNA SEE A NEW CHAPTER SOON? Yay! :D :D**

 **Well, I think an out of the blue Sanctuary Hunt this late into the story would turn it into a modified retelling of Earthbound. I'm gonna keep the sanctuaries for another time.**

 **Thanks again. ^^**


	18. Chapter 18 - Gone Missing

**Chapter 18 - Gone Missing**

Lucas lifted his head from his desk when he heard Ness finally stir back to consciousness. He looked behind himself to see the other boy rise groggily from bed. Ness stared into space for a while before the events from earlier seemed to have rushed back into his head. He bolted upright with a panicked expression.

"How long was I out?" he said, not yet looking at Lucas.

"An hour," Lucas replied, "How are you f—"

"An _hour!_ " Ness all but screamed. He turned towards Lucas, "We've got to…"

He clenched and unclenched his fists, "Gah, why did you let me sleep that long?"

 _Well, he must've gotten better if he can shout up a storm,_ Lucas thought. He brought up a hand-drawn map in his hand.

"I think I know where Tom Garrickson hid Tracy," he said.

Ness tilted his face slightly to the side and knit his eyebrows.

"Where?"

"Peaceful Rest Valley."

"Eh, you have to be more specific than that."

"A small village called Youngtown."

Ness scratched his temple in thought.

"Never heard of it. Are you sure of the name?"

"Positive," Lucas said with a nod.

Ness got up and grabbed his bag. He knelt down and got out his baseball bat and bloodied clothes from underneath the bed, before stuffing them inside his backpack.

"I don't know how you figured it out," he said, zipping the bag and hauling it on his shoulders, "Normally, I'd be skeptical, but we should go there since we have no better leads to follow."

Lucas furrowed his eyebrows and stood up, tracing his hand on the back of the chair.

"Didn't you say you wanted to go see your mother?"

"Well, i-if I went there and took Tracy back, she wouldn't have to worry anymore."

"Are you sure? She must be worried sick right now. If you also disappeared—"

"Yes, I'm sure," Ness looked Lucas in the eye with determination, "I am going to get Tracy back, and tear Garrickson a new one for kidnapping my little sister."

"I suppose that's fair enough," Lucas said with a resigned shrug, knowing Ness wouldn't back down. He approached Ness and grabbed his arm.

"Teleport."

* * *

Tracy's eyes fluttered open when she heard a clanking noise nearby. She half-rose up, rubbing a bleary eye with her fist, before she realized she wasn't in her room. She looked around the sterile, poky room she was in. She lied on an elevated metal platform in the center of the room, which was the only thing in there save for the big door where she heard the noise that woke her up. She hopped down from the metal platform.

"Mom?" she called, not expecting her mother to respond.

"Big brother?" Her eyes welled up with tears. Fear crept up her soul, but she furrowed her eyebrows and furiously wiped her wet eyes, willing herself to be brave. If Ness saw her right now, he would totally make fun of her for crying. She knew he wouldn't want her to be weak.

She took a tentative step towards the door, reaching out for the handle, then took a step back once her hand brushed against the cold handle. What if there was a bogeyman waiting for her right behind the door? She twirled her fingers before she took a deep breath and twisted the door handle.

There were no bogeymen in sight. The corridor ahead was just as barren and dull as the room she was in. Light was coming from somewhere she couldn't place — There were no light fixtures on the ceiling, but her surroundings were well-lit. She almost stepped forward, but she placed back her foot when she saw a boy lying face-down on the floor with a broken robot-man next to him. She gasped, staring at the unconscious boy for any signs of life, before letting out a relieved sigh when she noticed he was actually breathing. She looked around the vacant corridor, before bending down and picking the stranger by the wrist in an attempt to drag him back to the room.

"You're strong, Tracy," she grunted to herself, picking up both of the boy's wrists this time, "Here… We… G-ah!"

Her socked foot slipped on the smooth floor, making her lose her balance and fall down painfully. She got up and examined her work. She managed to drag the stranger fully inside the room, which was great since her arms felt sore; the boy was much heavier than he looked.

She closed the door, then crouched down and flipped the unconscious body onto his back. The mysterious boy had red hair, which to her was his most striking feature. That, and a bloody nose. She rested his back on her knees and leaned the head slightly forward, just like how they did it in the first-aid video she watched at school. Tracy looked down, examining the boy further.

Red hair fascinated her, and a chance to look at it up close was too good to pass up, no matter how creepy she felt at the moment. She brushed a tentative hand through the red locks. Up close, it looks just like ordinary hair, only red, and really soft. She giggled to herself, before she saw the boy's eyes twitch. She withdrew her hand just when he opened his eyes, rising up almost mechanically. He glanced behind his shoulder at her, causing her to guiltily look away and fidget with her fingers.

He muttered something under his breath, before suddenly bending over and tensing like a bowstring. The redhead held his position for what seemed to be an eternity, before Tracy realized he must have been in pain; his face was pulled into a grimace.

"Are you okay?"

"You're awake," he grunted, clambering upright and staring wide-eyed at her. He looked lost for a moment.

"Um… Do you know where are we?" she asked, figuring he didn't seem threatening.

"Tracy," he said calmly, crouching down to her level, "My name is Tom. Now, Ness is going to come here soon and get you out of here, okay?"

"Big brother is coming?" she said, her eyes glimmering with hope.

"That's right. You're safe here, so all what I want you to do is stay put until he comes and take you back home."

Tracy nodded, then her eyes widened for a split-second.

"Wait," she said, digging into her pyjama pockets and fishing out a napkin, "Your face is all bloody."

She cleaned away the blood with the tissue paper, her tongue slightly poking out to the side in concentration. Tom watched her wipe his face with an unreadable expression.

"Thanks," he said, getting up. She smiled and went back to sit on the elevated platform.

"So I just have to wait here?"

"Yes. Ness will show up any time," he said, watching her with concentration, "You should probably take a nap, Tracy."

She threw him a confused look, before her eyes rolled upwards and her whole body went lax, resting on the platform.

"Can't have her sneak around this place," he murmured to himself. He eyed the sleeping child with a fond smile he couldn't help, before turning around towards the exit. He closed the door behind him, dropping his smile once he turned around. He didn't exactly lie to her when he said Ness was coming for her. However, he was going to make sure _he_ was in control of Ness' body the next time she sees him. Tom bent down and and punched the ground, hissing when his still-raw knuckles made contact with the floor.

A tall, stocky teen materialized in front of him. Tom Garrickson straightened up and examined the vacant face, before pointing at the starman's corpse.

"Get rid of this thing," he said, slapping the larger boy's hunched shoulder, "Then get Pokey. Time for you two to be useful."

* * *

Ness stopped in his tracks and flopped down on the grassy ground. He lifted his head and stared at the sky.

"We're lost," he said with a deadpan, shifting to sit cross-legged and faced Lucas, "I'm sure've been in this spot _twice_ already."

Lucas examined his surroundings. He'd seen that peculiar rock, which stood out from a nearby cliff. It didn't help Peaceful Rest Valley had multiple levels and convoluted paths.

"We probably should've gone that way," Lucas said, pointing towards a fork in the road. Ness let out a frustrated groan.

"Lucas," he whined, "We went there already! We've been running in circles in this god-awful place since heaven-knows-when."

He lied back, craning his neck to look at Lucas upside-down.

"We should've brought a more reliable map from the library," he grumbled, "That way, we wouldn't have gotten lost. We should probably go back to Twoson and—"

He paused, eyeing a cliff behind Lucas. He scrambled to his feet and looked again at the spot that caught his attention, where a tiny path was half-hidden between the rocks and weeds.

"There's a path over there," he said, "Did we check it out?"

"Where?"

Ness passed by Lucas and motioned for him to follow as he ran towards the newly discovered road. It was little more than a winding crevice three feet across. Ness walked in front, and Lucas followed behind through the narrow path.

The trail widened at a heavy bend, before they found themselves in the middle of a clearing surrounded by rocks in all directions.

"Another dead end," Lucas said, surveying the clearing. Ness let out an irritated yell, kicking a wall of rock while spewing curses with each kick.

"Ness, calm down," Lucas said, debating whether he placed a hand on Ness' shoulder.

"This is pathetic," Ness said with a wry laugh, staring at the ground, "I only wanted to go and save Tracy. I thought it would be easy, like some stupid adventure movie."

He made a nervous gesture with his hands, rubbing his knuckles together.

"I mean, we have no idea what we're doing," he continued, "What if Garrickson is just stringing us along into a trap? What if Tracy's dead already?"

"Don't say that," Lucas said, extending a hand towards Ness.

"Don't _touch_ me!" Ness snarled and stepped back. Lucas stared at the other boy, who bristled and bared his teeth like a cornered animal.

Lucas was about to to open his mouth, but then a bright beam of light hurtled through the space between him and Ness, slamming into the cliff and shattering the rock, sending debris and dust into their faces. Ness shielded his head with his arms, while Lucas lost his balance and fell.

"What the hell," Ness cried out. Through the smoke, he saw a hazy silhouette at the exit, "Garrickson?"

Ness helped Lucas up to his feet, checking him for injuries, before the two whipped around to the source of whatever shot at them. A tall, silver robot stood at the exit, pointing a slender arm at them, and a heavyset boy around their age stood next to it.

"Pokey?" Lucas called, "Wait, that's not…"

"Took you guys long enough to show up," Tom Garrickson's voice came out from the machine.

"You! Where's my sister?" Ness barked, "Show yourself, and I swear my baseball bat will be the last thing you'll ever see."

Ness whipped out the bat from his bag and started towards the robot, but Lucas held him back by the arm.

"Easy, we don't know what he's planning this time," Lucas reasoned, struggling to reign Ness in. The stout teen stepped forward, fixing the two psychics with a reptilian gaze. He held a long crowbar in one hand and slapped the palm of his other hand with it.

"Say, Lucas," Tom said through the robot, "Does this fella ring any bells?"

Lucas furrowed his eyebrows at the blank-faced stranger. He looked familiar, only if he was a little smaller, with a bit more baby fat. He would've look like…

"…Trent!" Lucas exclaimed, "But how?"

"Who?" Ness stopped struggling in Lucas' grip and shot the latter a quizzical look.

"Good eye," the robot transmitted, "Although his brain's now the size of a softball, thanks to the starmen experiments. Made him easier to control, at least. The day you left the orphanage, he managed to punch a few of those rusty piles of crap out of order."

Lucas looked aghast, then his face tightened into a repulsed scowl, "To think I considered you good. You're nothing but a sickening psychopath."

Tom let out a hearty laugh, which sounded tinny and clipped through the 'starman'.

"Am I?" he replied, "But you and I are pretty much the same, Lucas."

"Like hell he's anything like you, you sick freak," Ness butted in.

"You just got lucky," Tom continued, ignoring Ness' remark, "Even though you've left Fourside and begun a new life in some nice, little town, you're perfectly capable of a sadistic streak. Tell me, didn't it feel _good_ when you scared the living hell out of Pokey and his little gang last year? Didn't you get a rush out of watching Frank Fly suffer?"

Lucas looked hesitant for a moment, before he shook his head vehemently, "No, I did not!"

"Hmph. You shouldn't lie to yourself, but enough talking. Perhaps it's time Pokey had his revenge, too."

"What are you…" Ness said, before he heard a hollow thud, then Lucas fell in a crumpled heap on the ground. He whipped around to see an out-of-nowhere Pokey holding a crowbar identical to the one in Trent's hold.

" _Pokey,_ " Ness howled, charging his neighbor and shoulder-tackling him to the ground. Pokey didn't even resist the impact — he went down like a felled tree, all while staring back at Ness with a catatonic gaze. Ness lifted his baseball bat above his head, fully intent on bashing sense back into Pokey's head. He tried bringing down his bat, but his arms froze above his head, as if they had developed a will of their own.

"Ah, ah ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Tom Garrickson's pert voice came from behind, "Put the bat down, Nessie."

 _'Up yours, Garrickson,'_ Ness tried to say, but his tongue refused to comply. His grip on the baseball bat went lax, causing it to fall next to Lucas' unconscious body.

"Tch. Not even a challenge," Tom Garrickson said, "I hate to do this the Stone Age way, but Starmen body control doesn't last long. Knock him out, Trent."

Ness felt a foreboding chill creep down his spine as he heard the other guy approach with coarse footsteps and stop right behind him. His insides coiled into a bitter knot at how easily Garrickson had managed to one-up the two of them.

A heavy, blunt object collided with the side of his head, and everything went dark.

* * *

Picky let out a sigh for the umpteenth time.

From his seat in the corner of the school cafeteria, he idly watched the other children chatting, eating or minding their own business. His eyes fixed themselves on the disgusting, school-provided glop on their plates, which seemed quite appetizing to his rumbling stomach.

Usually, Trace would have shared her food with him on a day like this, but she didn't show up today. Everybody in school had been talking about it — Tracy was kidnapped yesterday night, at the same time his brother had also disappeared. The rumor came from some kid who saw a newspaper on a teacher's desk. Picky didn't need a rumor; police cars pulled over at her house and his yesterday. Since then, he'd been worried sick for their safety.

A mental image of his mother chaining Tracy to a dungeon wall found its way into Picky's mind. He shivered in terror, before he sighed again, leaning to hide half of his face behind his arms. He was starving, bored, his brother was missing and his only friend had been probably kidnapped, so he had nobody to talk to. On top of all this, he was painfully aware of the funky, sideways glances some kids threw his way. Picky remembered Tracy would've stood up for him, too.

Today's going to be _heck!_

* * *

After school, Picky chose to walk home instead of riding the bus, since the bus ride made him dizzy on an empty stomach. Besides, he had nothing at all to do back home save for roosting in his room, so he wasn't particularly looking forward to that.

He paused at a large puddle of water in front of a small house a block or so away from the elementary school. Whoever lived in that house must have hosed their car recently for this much water to pool on the street. He heard a car approach from behind, driving into the puddle and splashing water onto the sidewalk where he stood. With a yelp, he sidestepped just enough so the splattered water only landed on his shoes. He glared at the minivan which passed him by. It skidded to a halt a few houses ahead. A woman got out of the car, and a man followed suit after hauling a large camcorder from the trunk. Curious, Picky tiptoed after them and peeked from behind a nearby bush as the two people, whom he assumed to be reporters, pushed the doorbell.

A big man answered, his face pulled downwards the moment he saw the camcorder aimed at his face. The woman greeted the man and introduced herself as a reporter for some Fourside news channel. The man crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side.

"Fourside news? What do you want?" he asked in a standoffish manner. Then newspeople seemed unfazed.

"Could we have a few minutes of your time?" the cameraman asked, fiddling with some buttons on the shoulder-mounted device.

"I have a few questions about your son, Lucas, who was reported missing as of yesterday," the reporter woman completed, "May we come in?"

Lucas? Wasn't that the weird kid Pokey complained about of all the time? Picky stuck out his head from the hedge bush to listen in.

"No, you may not," the man replied, stiffening his pose and looking down on the two journalists. His size nearly filled the whole doorframe, intimidating them.

"Then you might not mind us asking a few questions here?" the reporter woman said with an awkward chuckle. Picky craned his neck for a better look, before ducking once his eyes locked with the huge man at the door.

"Ask your questions and leave," the man at the door grumbled.

"Great. Uh, so from what we've heard, Lucas was last seen in his room, right?"

"Uh huh. He had a friend over. I think his name was Ness. He's missing, too."

Picky couldn't help a gasp. Ness too?

"When did you or your wife last check on your son?" the reporter asked, apparently not interested in the small detail of yet another missing child.

"Last night. They had dinner and went upstairs. Haven't seen them since."

He tapped his foot and let out an irritated huff, "I already explained all of that to the police. Are you done?"

"No, why didn't you check on him afterwards? I'd expect the Drago Whisperer's _parents_ would be more caring for their son not to…" she cocked her head to the side in an accusatory gesture, "Say, get into another headline."

The man's face flashed with shock for a split-second before his expression hardened into a deep scowl.

"Are you saying I'm a neglectful parent," he said carefully, "That I'm somehow benefiting from my son's disappearance?"

"With all due respect, sir," she said, "You probably might not be a suitable parent if you allowed your _adoptive_ _child_ to disappear, and little Lucas has a well-known history of placing himself in danger—"

"You are nothing but disgusting yellow journalists," the man seethed, "I won't listen further to your garbage. Get off my property!"

He slammed the door shut in their faces. The woman swore and clenched her hands into fists. She whipped around and stomped towards her car, the crewman following behind. They gave Picky a brief glance before climbing back into the car, speeding down the road. Picky's face scrunched in distaste when the reporter woman passed by, leaving an overbearing scent of perfume in her wake. He leaned away from the tree and stuck out his tongue.

Ugh, her perfume smelled like mothballs!

* * *

The reporters' minivan was parked in front of Ness' house when Picky walked by. He saw the newswoman snoop around the small building, checking out the windows for any presence, before shaking her head. She stood in front of the cameraman, and pointed towards the Minches' house. Picky heard the newswoman say something about the 'rich folk next door also missing a child of their own', before ambling towards the villa.

He didn't want to leave the impression he was following them, so he waited until Lardna answered. She might have expected their arrival, since she was dressed in her best dress and lathered her face with more makeup than usual. Picky watched on as she let in the two reporters and only went out of his hiding spot when the door closed. He stood in the middle of the road and gazed up at his neighbors' house. He knew Trace's room was upstairs on the other side of the house. He busied himself with thinking up possible ways Trace would be kidnapped without rousing attention, unaware of the car which parked behind the reporters' minivan nor the two blondes inside it.

"Picky?" the older one of the pair said, causing him to jump and scream. He jerkily turned around to see Tracy's mother and Paula climb out of the car.

"What's the matter?" Tracy's mom asked, then turned her eyes at the parked minivan. She shot Picky a questioning look.

"Reporters were here," Picky said, "They went to our house. You just missed them."

The woman looked relieved. "Good. I don't want to deal with those people, too."

She fished out a keychain from her coat, before smiling at the boy.

"Come on in, Picky," she said, "You shouldn't stay outdoors for too long."

He paused, debating whether he should follow, but Paula ushered him along into the house. Picky absently thought this is the first time ever he'd ever been to his neighbors' house without Tracy being home.

Tracy's mother set down her handbag on a coffee table and flopped down on the adjacent sofa. She closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. Picky swallowed an awkward lump and leaned towards Paula.

"…Where have you been?" he whispered.

"I've been all over town," Tracy's mom answered, still not opening her eyes, "I looked in each place Ness and Tracy frequented, but there are no signs of them anywhere."

"Someone disappeared in Twoson as well," Paula spoke up, "He's a friend of Ness and Lucas."

Picky remembered seeing the reporters talk to Lucas' dad, "Um, I saw the reporters at Lucas' house a while ago."

Tracy's mom opened her eyes and faced the two kids, "I saw his mother. Poor thing was devastated."

Picky looked at his friend's mother. She looked strong and calm, like she'd always been, if he looked past the tiny details, like the tired, dark circles beneath her eyes or her uncombed hair.

"You and Tracy spend so much time together, it's weird seeing you on your own," she remarked. Picky blushed and murmured an indistinct apology, not meeting her inspecting gaze. He fidgeted under the sudden scrutiny.

"You haven't been eating," she said matter-of-factly.

"Huh? I… No, I'm not—" he stammered, but his mutinous stomach made itself known with a loud growl at that very moment. Picky's face flushed bright red and looked aside.

"I was going to prepare dinner anyway," Tracy's mom said, standing up, "I'd love if you stayed for dinner, too."

She padded towards the kitchen. She probably knew or, at least, had a vague idea of his mother's 'no-food' routine. Maybe Tracy told her mother since she used to bring a large lunchbox to school when she shared her lunch with him. He was by no means emaciated, but perhaps it was only a matter of time.

Picky looked up towards Paula, who was idly stroking King's long, flowing fur.

"Did you say someone else from Twoson disappeared, too?" he asked, trying to start some conversation instead of the awkward silence looming over their heads.

"I don't think you know him," she replied, "His name is Tom, and he was recently put in a hospital after getting mugged a few days ago."

Picky froze. He remembered a redhead 'Tom' who paid Pokey a visit the other day. He'd said something about Tracy back then. Paula quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Is everything all right?" Paula said with apparent concern. Picky shook his head.

"No," he squeaked, "I mean… Yes, I'm fine."

 _'You wouldn't want little Picky here to join Tracy, too.'_

Picky remembered that Tom person saying that to Pokey. He didn't think much of it back then because that guy acted really nice, but now, it made a whole lot more sense.

At that, Picky was no longer hungry. The sound of the doorbell ringing shook him from his thoughts. Paula got up and went to the door.

"I really hope it's not those reporters," she said, turning the doorknob, "Otherwise I'd have to ruin another frying pan—"

She paused when she saw a somber-faced man in a business suit, carrying a suitcase at the door. Picky instantly recognized him as Ness and Tracy's dad.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Polestar," the father greeted. Paula returned the greeting and stepped aside to let him in.

"Who's at the door, Paula?" Tracy's mom poked her head into the room. Her eyes widened when she saw who was at the doorway. "Oh."

"I heard about what happened," the man said, setting down his suitcase, "I came here as soon as I could."

"Now you show up," his wife hissed, "Our children had to be _kidnapped_ so you'd finally bother with leaving work and pay attention. Well, too little, too late!"

The man ran a hand through his jet-black hair and sighed. Tracy's mother gritted her teeth and shook with fury, before deflating altogether. She crossed the distance between her and her husband and wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm… I'm sorry. I just… I don't know what to do." Her voice cracked, "I just want my babies back."

Picky watched on with growing discomfort. Tracy's mom had put on a brave face so far, but he could see the cracks forming in her composed façade. She was going to break down, and soon. Paula walked up to him and took his hand.

"I think we should leave," she told him with a smile and lifted her head towards the couple, "Thank you for having us, ma'am. Come on, let's go outside, Picky"

Picky nodded and stood up, letting Paula lead him towards the front door. Paula stopped at the street and leaned on the fence, and Picky sat on the ground beside her, leaning his back on the wooden structure.

"Ness' mom is a strong woman," She said, placing a lock of blonde hair behind her ear, "But nobody deserves this happening to them."

"Am I gonna be kidnapped, too?" he asked. She shook her head.

"I don't know, but let's hope not."

"You look so calm," he blurted out, "Er, I don't mean to say you don't care, but… uh…"

He trailed off, realizing he'd made a complete fool of himself. Paula chuckled and turned her gaze upwards. He looked up as well at the cloudless afternoon sky. The weather was perfect, not the kind of weather he'd imagined for misery and missing friends.

"I'm sure wherever they are," Paula spoke up, "They'll come back safely. I have faith in them."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I have no idea. I just am." She paused for a few seconds, "When I feel troubled, I pray for things to come around."

Picky quirked an eyebrow. He'd heard Pokey always say prayer was worthless. Paula seemed to have picked on his skepticism

"I know, it sounds stupid," she smiled, "But believe me, every time I do so, my prayer is answered eventually, one way or another."

Picky wanted to ask further, but stopped himself. Paula clasped her hands and closed her eyes, seemingly praying with her whole heart for their safety. Picky found himself tipping his head downwards and inwardly pray for Tracy's well-being, too. He wished for Pokey's safety as an afterthought. Paula opened her eyes and leaned away from the fence. He stood up as well and dusted himself off.

"I should go home," she said, "You should, too. Don't stay outside too late."

 _'But Tracy disappeared from her own room!'_ he secretly protested, but nodded nonetheless. He didn't want to hang outside when it gets dark. They parted ways, with Paula walking down the hill and him having no better thing to do than trudge back home.

That mothball smell invaded his nostrils the moment he got inside. He poked his head into the living room, where the journalist from earlier sat down next to a sobbing Lardna, patting the portly woman's convulsing shoulder. The two guests looked like they wanted to be anywhere but in her proximity at the moment.

"I just don't know what to do without my so-ho-ho-on," Picky's mother wailed through her howls. She momentarily stopped sobbing upon seeing Picky, before she flashed him a broad grin through her tears.

"My dear, sweet Picky," she cooed, "How was school today?"

Picky saw the TV tuned to a rerun of a documentary on some Greek mythology he vaguely remembered watching the other day. He wondered whether he currently looked like those frozen stone statues of Medusa victims on screen.

"Is that your son, too?" the cameraman said rather intelligently.

"Of course," Lardna answered, "Little Picky means the whole _world_ to me, too."

"Aw, you're a lucky little buster," the reporter said in a stilted tone, flashing the nine-year old a PR grin.

Picky shot them a flat look, before turning around and plodding upstairs, leaving his mom to bask in the media attention. He wondered whether the reporter lady would care if he told her he had nothing to eat for almost two days straight, but thought better of it; Lardna would smash his guts out.

* * *

 **Guess who's back! No, I'm still alive and I still write. A month or so of no updates was the longest halt for this fanfic. Hopefully won't repeat such a pause again, provided writer's block/procrastination/uni work/being lazy don't hit me anytime soon.**

 **Writing a scene with two unnamed characters was tough, but I wanted to see if I could pull it off without giving the parents actual names… Hopefully it wasn't confusing or too hard to read, but chalk it up to Picky not actually knowing their proper names. Or me not bothering with even a last name because I'm horrible with names. :3**

 **Review Responses:**

 _ **Ender2142:**_

 **I had to look up Mario Party 10 and get shocked at the revelation it's the FOURTEENTH title of the franchise. Wow. They sure give Sega a run for their money when it comes to uh, "prolific" franchises.**

 **That's _exactly_ what I wanted to convey about Tom - Messed up. :P There is an earlier chapter about Lucas' time at the orphanage from his own view, so yeah.**

 **Giygas is the creepiest boss ever? I'd vote Corroder from Clock Tower 3, but maybe because the subtle fridge horror of Giygas went over my head when I played the game as a kid... As for Clock Tower 3, let's just say I still have a phobia of caustic materials. XD I don't know if the Psychic Duo will get to sit down and name their PSI, but we'll just wait and see. ;)**

 _ **Jprogrammer:**_

 **Thanks. I hope you still like the story. :D**

 _ **Connor the speling pro:**_

 **Your antagonists in Ceres tend to be the "we could've been friends under different circumstances" type, which makes them much more complex; their beliefs clash with the protagonists', but doesn't make them all-around evil or hateable because they're just bad. (read, Aloysius Minch :P ) I'm trying to make Tom Garrickson someone who would have been a better person had he gotten a better chance at life. It's not like Morgan's story isn't tragic. She had to see her dismembered father's body (whom she loved and believed to be a thoroughly good person) and restrain herself enough not to kill whoever murdered him.**

 **Looking up the series, there is an upcoming video game for Mistborn. I don't know about scientific-sounding magic systems, I'd probably nerd out and call every scientific error and ruin the fun. :P**

 **Well... Quoting Phoesong, "** Then again, if you put a lot of OCs in a fanfiction, then it's just turns into...fiction. **"** **NOT saying it's a _bad_ thing, it actually means much better creativity than being bounded only with whatever characters already available.**

 **Random POV chapters and flashbacks. *Looks over at this chapter* Yeah. Heh. It's a good thing you liked that chapter, and this one isn't a flashback, more like an "in the meantime"**

 **Haha, in the time between your review and now, you posted five TD chapters. Shows how much I'm slacking off. I don't mind discussing your own fanfics here at all, it's actually cool.**

 **See ya. :)**

 _ **PSIBoy:**_

 **Hey. ^^**

 **I did think a dedicated chapter would be better than a lengthy 'before-I-kill-you' speech, too. Not that Tom Garrickson doesn't have to explain himself later anyway, but it gives the reader a little more context and shortens the monologue a lot. I'm glad you liked the chapter.**

 **Actually, I first heard about the genetic chimeras thing from a Michael Crichton novel (Next) then I looked it up it turned out to be a legit thing. I added some fictional stuff to the concept obviously, like the unstable PSI power that doubles as a time bomb. Yeah, being jealous for only 'stealing' Lucas away wouldn't have made much sense to hate Ness this much, although it does a little for Pokey hating Lucas for stealing Ness, but that's a different thing.**

 **Tom Garrickson attacked the starman at the end to steal the PSI move which allows its user to take over someone's body (From the conversation with Giygas at the end) I guess I didn't make his intentions too clear. My bad. :P**

 _ **Phoesong:**_

 **Hi, Phoesong.**

 **Oh gosh HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. That was an extreme theory to end all extreme theories, and Captain Falcon was the cherry on top of the hilarity sundae. You made my day. XD**

 **Yeah, Good OCs are hard to come up with, especially if there are people already who make good OCs like it's going out of style. (*cough*Connor*cough*PSIBoy*cough*)**

 **That's a pretty accurate note, not you being weird. Lucas and Tom Garrickson are similar in their ability to be vengeful/Machiavellian, and it's discussed a bit in this chapter.**

 **There was a net update of 17k words that one time. I can't believe I've been reading FTPOL since April (The first EB fanfic to ever read) and haven't reviewed it yet. I think I should get to that. XD**

 **runs into so many glitches, it's actually strange when a few months pass without spotting an update on the front page apologizing for this issue or announcing they're working out that kink in the system. :L And yes,** **Science FTW! :D *Falcon fistbumps me to orbit - "YES!"***

 **Wait, I wrote it like that? *Blushes and fixes the typo* There. Done. Yet another crabbyTomato Proofreading Fail(tm) fixed. XD**

 _ **hellolord307:**_

 **Thank you. :)**


	19. Chapter 19 - Destabilized

**Chapter 19 - Destabilized**

Bright reddish-orange filled Lucas' vision. He tried prying open an eyelid, but blinding white light attacked his oversensitive eyeballs, intensifying the throbbing pain in the back of his skull tenfold. He couldn't have been out for long, but through the nauseating somersaults his insides did, he realized he was on a cold, rigid chair that couldn't have been in the meadow from earlier. He registered distant voices talking, but he couldn't make distinguishable letters through his foggy brain and the ringing in his ears.

Slowly, he pieced together what had happened. He was talking to Tom Garrickson through that robot, saw Trent for the first time in years, and then… He woke up somewhere unfamiliar.

"…Whenever he wakes up," Lucas' ears caught Tom Garrickson's voice. His eyes shot open and whipped to the direction where the voice came from.

Lucas found himself inside a small glass-walled room, with the wall further from him made of twitching, alive-looking material. Two large, rectangular screens were embedded inside the fleshy wall, one displaying Ness inside a similar cell and Tom Garrickson in the other one.

"And he's up," Tom said, a smug grin scrawled on his face, "I was starting to think Pokey whacked you a bit too hard."

"Pokey?" Lucas questioned, before noticing the person in question standing on the other side of one of the glass panes. He had the same vacant expression Trent held back in the valley.

"Nessie and I were having a little chat while you were out," Tom Garrickson continued, "Too bad he's not in a chatty mood right now."

Lucas knit his eyebrows and took a better look at Ness through the screen. Ness was tied to his chair with thick metal cuffs, completely restricting his legs and upper half.

"What did you do to him?" Lucas asked. He tried getting up, but metal cuffs held his wrists to the seat.

"Nothing serious," Tom replied, "My PSI is unstable at the moment, so I'm keeping you two manageable in the meantime."

"What do you want with us?" Lucas demanded, "And why did you kidnap Tracy, too? You and Ness have no history for you to hold such a grudge against him."

Tom Garrickson closed his eyes for a moment before he lifted his head, his face taking a solemn frown as he levelled Lucas with an intense stare.

"I want to free an old alien from its prison underground," he said, "It's been locked up in a huge machine deep inside this complex for heavens-know how long. Now take a wild guess what does that have to do with you or Ness."

Tom Garrickson paused to lean into the camera, giving his face a distorted, concave look.

"I'm dying, Lucas. My own psychic powers are slowly killing me, and this alien… Giygas, promised me a new body if I broke it out of its prison."

He leaned back, drinking in Lucas' shellshocked expression.

"Crazy, isn't it?" Tom said with a wry grin, "Freeing Giygas needs a huge amount of psychic effort to break the machine trapping it. I'm not fit for the task, because I'd drop dead before half of the thing trapping it is even cracked. You on the other hand… You got a much better shot at it. I can't guarantee you getting out in one piece, though."

Lucas furrowed his eyebrows. "What if I refuse to free it?"

"Don't get smart with me. I didn't say it's a voluntary process."

"But… Why Ness out of all people?" Lucas said with a strained voice, "I've known you for far longer, and you didn't plot to kill me and steal _my_ body."

"Ness has got everything I've never had," Tom Garrickson said, "He's cursed with being a psychic, yet he's in good health and has a normal life while I had none of that. You and I bear a curse, Lucas. It's not fair Ness gets to lead a normal life and we don't."

"Don't compare me to yourself," Lucas retorted, "I'm nothing like you. Don't think I'd stoop that low and steal a stranger's life."

"Please. I don't _think_ you would do Giygas' bidding if you were in my shoes, I _know_ it."

"And you're so desperate you're willing to believe that alien's going to play nice?" Lucas snapped, "What makes you so sure it would live up to its promise?"

Tom Garrickson's face hardened. "Call it a pact with the devil if you like," he said, airily waving his hand. "Don't busy your little head with that, Lucas. I know what I'm doing."

He suddenly appeared a foot away from Lucas, causing the latter to jolt against his bonds.

"Now be a good kid, and go to sleep," Tom Garrickson said, bringing down a hand against Lucas' neck, forcing him to look into ominously glowing emerald eyes.

Lucas wanted to protest, but he felt a psychic shockwave rattling his brain against his skull. He winced at the pain as he tried breaking eye contact, but his consciousness began sinking as the hand propping his neck left his head to sag against his chest.

* * *

"Lucas?"

 _…_

"Hey, Lucas…"

 _Ugh. Who…?_

"Were you even listening?"

 _Who are you?_

"Man, don't tell me you didn't hear a single word of what I said."

When Lucas lifted his head, he found himself in a familiar place. A mirror image of him stared back with a mildly annoyed expression.

"Claus!" he gasped.

"No, a drago," Claus said, crossing his arms, "Who else?"

"You're… You're here."

"Of course I am. _You_ weren't."

 _Something isn't right._

"Where are we?" Lucas asked, an uneasy feeling seeping through him.

Claus shot him a bewildered look.

"Uh, grandpa's house?" Claus replied. He placed a hand on Lucas' forehead, "Seriously, are you coming down with something? You're acting a little weird."

His brother's warmth on his forehead felt too real. Lucas recoiled back from the touch and surveyed the wooden-walled house he was in. The vague smell of livestock, the creaking sound of the bed he sat on and the detail in his brother's confused face were all so vivid it was overwhelming.

Relief washed over Lucas. Despite the sensory overload, he knew he was home. It must've been all an awful dream.

"I'm okay," Lucas said, "Where's mom?"

"Downstairs," Claus replied, then tugged at his brother's arm, "Come on, let's go down, it's getting stuffy up here."

Lucas stood up and followed his brother's lead down the stairs. True to Claus' words, Hinawa sat at a table, chatting with their grandfather. She levelled a disapproving look at the pair of twins when she saw them.

"Claus!" Alec berated, "Was it you who just spooked the chickens and ruined the pumpkin patch?"

"Sorry," Claus said with a sheepish snicker, rubbing the back of his neck, "I was teasing the hens. I didn't mean to scare them into the crops."

"If that's how you truly feel, apologize to your grandfather at once," Hinawa said.

Claus rolled his eyes.

"Sorry I spooked the hens, grandpa," he huffed half-heartedly. Hinawa lowered her neck and arched a brow.

"And sorry I ruined the vegetables," he added. Hinawa nodded in satisfaction.

"That's better," she said, "Your grandfather worked hard to plant them, so you will help him repair what you've done."

Claus' face fell. "Aw, not fair!"

Lucas chuckled, recognizing the feeling he'd seen this whole conversation happen before. He watched Claus try to whine his way out of farm work with his mother and grandfather, before the door opened and his father walked in. Flint stood at the door, his face hidden by the shadow of his large hat, while Hinawa and Alec seemingly froze halfway into whatever they did. Lucas tried to get a better glimpse at Flint through the shade to no avail. His sense of familiarity quickly collapsed, like listening to a known song abruptly gone off-key. He tapped his brother's shoulder.

"Claus? Is something wrong with dad?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I… can't see his face."

Claus took a casual look at Flint before turning around.

"Ah, that's because you don't remember how he looked like."

At that, the feeling of unease came back to Lucas in full swing. He didn't remember?

"You don't recall how your father looked like anymore," Claus repeated, "That's why you can't see his face."

"I, what?" Lucas took a moment for what Claus said to sink in. He turned towards the faceless man, "So that means…"

Claus nodded. Through the shade, Lucas realized his father must have smiled.

"This all isn't real," Lucas said, looking around him. Time started to flow once more, and the rest of Lucas' family turned to face him.

Hinawa shook her head, flashing Lucas a warm smile. Claus mirrored his mother's expression.

"Dream or not," Claus said, tightening one arm around Lucas in a light hug. "We love you, Luke. We'll always be watching for you."

Lucas silently leaned into Claus' hold, taking in his family's faces one more time.

"It was nice seeing you again, Lucas," Claus said, cracking his knuckles. "Now wake up, you big idiot."

He said that, then punched his twin in the face.

* * *

Lucas woke up with a gasp as he reflexively jerked his neck to the side. Dull pain throbbed in his cheek as if a real fist actually found its way to his face.

"Ow. That really stung," he murmured, rubbing his jaw.

He noticed he could now move freely out of his chair. Tom Garrickson probably didn't count on him waking up this soon. He rose up to his feet and staggered towards the glass pane where Pokey stood still. Through his blurred vision, he noticed Pokey was facing away from the glass wall. Lucas placed a hand on the cold glass, willing his PSI into action to shatter the barrier.

Nothing.

Lucas focused harder, but his efforts were only rewarded with pricking pain behind his eyes and a weak hexagon that hardly scratched the glass. Pokey probably didn't even hear him shuffle around the small cell, looking for any means of escape.

The only way he could leave this place would be if he teleported to the spot where Pokey stood. Lucas' PSI wasn't in its best shape now, but what would he lose if he tried?

"Teleport," he said, then he vanished into thin air.

* * *

 _Seventy-one… Seventy-two… Seventy-three._

Ness counted seventy-three tiles in the ceiling of the room he was currently cooped in. That, and the chair on the opposite side of the room. It was identical to the one he was strapped to, but it had dozens of wires going in and out of it, and a grotesque machine behind it that somehow looked alive. He had a painful crick in his neck, welts on his wrists from struggling against the cuffs, and there was a particularly nasty itch on his back. It started off unnoticeable at first, but now he wanted nothing more than getting up to claw at the inside of his spine.

Ness was livid. Tracy was nowhere to be seen, and the only person inside the room was that impassive guy who knocked him out earlier. What was his name? Trent? He'd been silent the entire time, staring dumbly into the opposite wall.

"You!" he yelled at the boy, "Hey, dumbass. Over here!"

Trent didn't seem to acknowledge his call. Ness tried rubbing his back against the smooth back of the chair to little relief.

"At least be useful, you obtuse waste of space," he hissed.

"Enjoying yourself, Nessie?" a voice whispered in Ness' ear. He swore under his breath and recoiled away. Ness swore he shall hate that voice so long as he lived. Tom Garrickson walked into his peripheral view.

"I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed," Ness muttered, nodding at the stony-faced boy, "But I guess this poor bastard has a history with you and Lucas?"

"Yes, he was Lucas' roommate back at the Fourside orphanage."

"Orphanage?" Ness scowled, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"And I thought you two were close friends," Tom shook his head, his mouth pulled in a tired smirk, "Clearly, I was misinformed. Lucas and I lived in the same orphanage in Fourside. At least he has an adoptive family now."

"What about this guy?" Ness asked, surveying the weary expression on Tom Garrickson's face.

"Trent was…" Tom said with labored breath, wiping a bead of sweat off his forehead, "He was…"

He let out a pained keen, staggering towards the vacant chair across from Ness'. Tom collapsed on the chair, stilling for a whole minute. Ness wanted to ask what was wrong, but held his tongue.

"Ten years," Tom Garrickson said through clenched teeth, flashing bloodshot eyes at Ness, "I've been living in this constant hell for ten years, and it only got worse with each passing year."

He burst in sudden laughter. Unrestrained, blissful laughter.

"It'll all be over soon," Tom Garrickson said with a genuine smile, "I won't have to go through this pain, and I'll get to live a normal life. I'm so happy, Ness."

"…" Ness found himself at a loss for words, watching as the green-eyed redhead's laughs slowly devolved into shorter, sadder ones. Before long, Tom Garrickson was outright weeping.

"Heh, heh. I'm making a fool of myself, am I?" Tom muttered, wiping an eye. His smile suddenly vanished, replaced by a dismayed expression.

"No way," he yelled, jumping up to his feet. He fired up the screen which showed Lucas' enclosure, only to find it devoid of its sole inhabitant. Tom Garrickson's face pulled into a furious snarl as he let out a feral scream. He stormed out of the room, leaving behind a thoroughly confused Ness.

Ness looked up at the screen, where Pokey stood in front of the glass cell. A minute later, Tom Garrickson strode into view. He glared at the vacant room, before turning to Pokey. He said something, before he flung the large blond into the glass, leaving a few cracks where Pokey's back collided with the transparent material. Ness watched on with horror as Tom Garrickson vented his anger on Pokey, beating him into a bloody pulp.

 _'How did Frank manage to put that freak in hospital?'_ Ness thought as he cast down his eyes, unable to watch further.

* * *

A feeling of dread crept over Lucas upon finding himself standing inside a foul-smelling, humid cave. There was no sight of Pokey nor the long corridor where he stood. There was a thin ray of sunlight coming in from someplace ahead from where Lucas stood. A huge cockroach scurried in front of his feet, but it paid him no mind. Lucas was certain he'd never been here before, but he pressed forward, mindful of his step. As he groped his way through the cave, his mind eventually wandered to Tom Garrickson's words through the starman back at the valley.

 _'Didn't it feel good when you scared the living hell out of Pokey and his little gang a few years ago?'_

Lucas remembered his bout of uncontrollable laughter upon seeing Pokey and the rest of his tormentors run away from the McKinleys' house in fright.

 _'Didn't you get a rush out of seeing Frank Fly suffer?'_

He couldn't deny the sight of a feared thug reduced to a helpless heap on his knees was… rewarding.

 _'You're perfectly capable of a sadistic streak.'_

Lucas resisted the urge to vomit. He froze and covered his face with both his hands.

"My god," he whispered into his palms. Tom Garrickson was right. Lucas was no better than him; his actions spoke for themselves plainly.

Something soft and springy bumped into his shin. With a startled gasp, Lucas looked down to find a peculiar creature with a disproportionately large nose gaze up at him from under thick eyebrows with black, beady eyes and an inquisitive stare.

"What are you?" Lucas squatted down to take a better look at the short creature. It had whiskers on the sides of its nose and a single tuft of hair hair with a small, red bow poking out of the top of its body. A shiny, disc-shaped object was stuck to its nose, but Lucas couldn't see much detail in the dark. The creature jumped into Lucas' arms, causing the boy to flinch at the sudden move. He nearly dropped it, before adjusting his hold on the surprisingly weighty critter.

 _'Blast, where did that stupid creature go?'_

Lucas couldn't sense thoughts coming out from the creature in his arms, but that thought reached his mind from somewhere ahead inside the cave. He got up and hid inside a nook that barely fit him. The round creature in his grip sneezed on his hands, scattering behind gross gobs of mucus. He wiped his hands on the rocks in disgust.

 _'I swear Tony owes me for leaving me with the most troublesome one of the lot.'_

"Hello?" The stranger's voice echoed inside the cave this time. It sounded like a boy around Lucas' age. Lucas poked his head out from his hidey hole to spot a glass-wearing, blond-haired kid in a green suit that must have seen better days. The stranger did a double take at the unexpected presence.

"Oh," the glasses-wearing boy said after a moment of awkward silence, "Who might you be?"

Lucas noticed the boy spoke with a prominent Winters accent. A horrifying thought crossed his mind — What if the botched teleportation landed him someplace as remote as Winters? This cave was cold, dark and damp, and Winters was notorious for its caves, so it wasn't a farfetched guess.

"Am I in Winters?" Lucas asked after a moment of hesitation. The Winterish boy seemed confused.

 _'Uh, he must be aware this is Threed County. Unless…'_

"Are you making fun of me?" he finally said, his brows pulled down in an offended frown.

"No, no. I, uh…" Lucas trailed off, "Sorry, I don't know why I asked."

He inwardly sighed in relief. Threed was only a few miles away from Peaceful Rest Valley, which wasn't as scary as being stranded halfway across the globe.

"I didn't catch your name," the glasses-wearing boy spoke up.

"Lucas," he supplied, getting out of the cramped hole.

"All right, Lucas. My name's Jeff. Care to hand Mr. Saturn over?" the other blond said, "They usually don't like being picked up."

"Huh?" Lucas looked down at the creature, "Its name is Saturn?"

The thing in his arms twitched its nose and sniffed loudly, " _No, Mister Saturn._ "

"It _talks_?" Lucas screamed, almost dropping the stubby creature. Jeff chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.

"Heh, Tony had the same reaction when they first spoke too," he said, "Come on, we should get out of here."

"Right."

They walked towards the exit in awkward silence. Lucas noticed the cautious peeks Jeff snuck at Mr. Saturn in his hold, and the uneasy thoughts in his mind. On the other hand, Mr. Saturn projected no thoughts.

"So, I'm part of a team sent by Snow Wood Academy in Winters," Jeff spoke up, "We're doing research on newly discovered lifeforms which live here. Uh, Doctor Andonuts found this place a fortnight ago."

Lucas figured this 'Dr. Andonuts' was probably the head of whatever expedition Jeff belonged to. The two of them exited the cave, with Lucas squinting at the intense sunlight.

"You mean to say," Lucas said, blinking, "This place is pretty much full of talking… those, and Winterish scientists?"

"Basically," Jeff said with a smirk, "But they are rather quirky, and hate being touched. It's strange this one is letting you hold it. Oh, it even gave you its little badge."

"Badge?" Lucas noticed a small copper badge with a lightning bolt shape adorning his chest next to the Mr. Saturn. This must have been the shiny thing on its nose from earlier.

" _Lab coat man make BOOM!_ " Mr. Saturn said with its nasal voice, hopping off Lucas' arms onto the ground. The two humans watched it waddle downhill where a few bizarre-looking buildings stood, before Lucas shot a confused look at Jeff.

"Uh, 'Lab coat man' probably meant Dr. Andonuts," Jeff explained, "We found blueprints of a really complex device here, and he's been trying to build it since he saw the schematics."

Lucas nodded, half-heartedly listening. He couldn't shake the feeling of something missing or 'off' inside his mind. He stopped in his tracks, letting Jeff walk past him.

"Please work this time," he whispered, conjuring up a few blue and cyan hexagons inside his cupped hands. A moment later, the shapes rippled and shattered, dissipating into thin air. Lucas frowned. He couldn't use his PSI yet.

"Are you coming?" Jeff said, shaking Lucas from his reverie.

Lucas wanted to teleport away right there, but until he fixed his frazzled brain, he wouldn't try his luck again; he might teleport himself into the middle of the ocean next time. He followed behind Jeff with defeated steps. Lucas couldn't do much until he reversed whatever Tom Garrickson did to him, so what if some scientists wanted to show him around their little field lab?

Apart from the possibility Tom Garrickson might have killed Ness already.

In the middle of the village-like settlement, Lucas and Jeff were greeted with the sight of a few Mr. Saturn creatures surrounding a balding old man in a lab coat that sported multiple snags, black spots and burn marks, frantically working on a big machine that looked like a big Mr. Saturn containing a few black swirls in the middle. A redheaded boy wearing a green suit similar to Jeff's with a silly-looking hat stood behind the old man and toyed with a fire extinguisher as he watched the mad show in front of him.

"Is Dr. Andonuts still working on this contraption?" Jeff started once he stopped next to the redhead.

"Yeah. Maxwell had to run away and hide," the redhead replied, not taking his eyes off the scientist in question, "The fact Dr. Andonuts didn't set off explosions yet is a bit reassuring."

A bundle of cables on the ground burst into flames just after he finished talking. The redhead rushed with the fire extinguisher and sprayed the blaze down as the Mr. Saturns scurried away from the fire.

"Jinxed it," Jeff slapped a palm to his face. Dr. Andonuts continued as if an electric fire didn't happen mere feet away from where he stood.

"Is this even safe?" Lucas spoke up. The hat-wearing kid jolted and turned around to face the newcomer.

"Jeff? Who is this?" he asked.

Jeff blushed and shifted his weight.

"Ah, I didn't introduce you. Um, Tony, this is Lucas. Lucas, this is Tony, my colleague," Jeff said in one breath, awkwardly pointed between the two.

"Charmed," Tony said, narrowing his eyes in distrust, "What brings you here? In the middle of nowhere, no less?"

"He was walking inside a cave one Mr. Saturn ran to," Jeff said in Lucas' defense, "He doesn't seem to know how he ended up here."

"You actually buy this bloke's story?" Tony exclaimed, "Are you mental?"

"Hey, it's a free country," Lucas said, irritated by Tony's attitude, "Who said I couldn't poke around caves to spend an afternoon?"

"Oh please!" Tony scoffed, "You popped up out of nowhere. That's a bit dodgy, I say."

"Never mind that," Jeff replied, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He faced the busy scientist, whose back was turned to the three boys.

Jeff cleared his throat. "Doctor Andonuts?"

Tony looked at the scientist after a few moments. "I don't think the old fogey can hear—"

"Yes, I _can_ hear you, Anthony," Dr. Andonuts said, "All in good time."

A massive stream of thoughts flooded Lucas' brain as he watched the old man work. The scientist's mind worked at breakneck speed, making Lucas' head spin. He chose to focus on a nearby Mr. Saturn instead. He wondered if he could carry one of them around in his backpack so he wouldn't have to hang around Ness all the time.

Before Lucas' mind wandered further, the old man took a step back from the machinery and let out a sigh, placing his hands on his hips. He turned around to face the three boys. He shot Jeff a questioning glance.

"Did you get the stray Mr. Saturn?" Dr. Andonuts asked, impatiently tapping his foot, "The one with the Franklin Badge."

"I, yes," Jeff replied, "But the badge—"

"That's nice. Well done," the scientist waved his hand dismissively. He scanned his surroundings as if looking for something or someone.

"Where is Maxwell? Is he hiding at the hot spring again?" Dr. Andonuts asked, then faced Lucas, "You, lad. Fetch my assistant at once."

He turned around to resume his work.

"Wow. What a totally sociable person," Lucas muttered dryly. Jeff sighed.

"Dad, er… Doctor Andonuts is a brilliant scientist, but he's out of his depth when it comes to dealing with people," he said, "We should go get Maxwell. He's probably somewhere near the spring."

"I'll tag along," Tony said, eyeing Lucas up and down, "I think we all should leave Dr. Andonuts to his work."

Lucas shot the redhead a miffed look but chose not to comment; it was obvious Tony eyed him with suspicion. He ground down a snort at the way Tony wedged himself between him and Jeff as the three of them walked away from Dr. Andonuts. Lucas didn't need mind-reading powers to figure out the hatted redhead and his possessiveness of Jeff. It was endearing in a way, but that didn't make him any less annoying for it.

The trio climbed up a crudely-fashioned stairway inside a cave, which led to an elevated area that overlooked the open space where Dr. Andonuts worked. An older teen wearing a grey jacket with matching pants and shoes sat by a hot spring, apparently working on an electronic device in his hands.

"Maxwell?" Jeff called, "Dr. Andonuts calls for you again."

The teenager at the hot spring groaned and pocketed his gadget.

"Ugh, again? Why did I sign up for this?" he lamented, "I just got zapped this morning. Twice, might I add. I'm a senior student, not a guinea pig."

"You're Dr. Andonuts' assistant," Tony said, "Er, technically."

"Yes, technically," Maxwell grumbled, pausing when he spotted Lucas, "Oh, hello there. Have we met?"

"Not really," Lucas said sheepishly, "I'm Lucas."

"Maxwell Edison," the senior student nodded, seemingly sharing Jeff and the doctor's blasé attitude towards Lucas' unannounced appearance. He cringed when a loud bang sounded off from below.

"You should probably get down there before the old coot blows the whole place up," Tony said.

Maxwell got up and dusted himself off, grumbling to himself. "Can't I just walk up to the doctor, tell him, 'Oh. Sorry, prof. I'm not bloody feeling up to catching fire today,' then book the next flight to Winters?" He shook his head, "But hey, anything for a full scholarship."

He continued grumbling to himself as he dragged himself down the cave and out of sight.

"Looks like that old geezer works him to the bone," Lucas remarked.

"Don't kid yourself," Tony said, taking Maxwell's former seat, "Maxwell loves his job. He just complains too much."

"There was some college kid from Twoson who wanted to become Dr. Andonuts' assistant so badly," Jeff said, sitting next to Tony, "But Dr. Andonuts refused and signed Maxwell up instead."

"Heh, yeah," Tony said, "The guy was decidedly gutted. What's his name again? I only recall he was a rich scrub who had a thing for oranges."

Lucas sat down across from the two boys. He absentmindedly traced his thumb on the badge's outer edge.

"I wonder why did the Mr. Saturn give you that small badge," Jeff said, watching the item on Lucas' shirt, "They seem to like you for some reason."

"Beats me," Lucas said, deciding to leave the badge on as long as the little creatures were around. He figured taking it off might come across as rude.

They sat in awkward silence, with no particular thing to talk about.

" _Coffee?_ "

"Huh?" Lucas glanced down at one Mr. Saturn carrying a tiny tray on top of its head. A wooden mug full of steaming coffee was placed on top of the tray.

" _Coffee_ ," the Mr. Saturn repeated, " _Say yes to me? Say no to me?_ "

"Um, thank you," Lucas said, accepting the offered beverage.

" _Bottoms up!_ " Mr. Saturn said, before shuffling away. Jeff sprung upright and flailed his arms at him.

"Wait- mmph!" Jeff cried out, before Tony hastily clapped a hand on his mouth and forced him to sit down.

"Please don't mind Jeff," Tony said, snickering. He shot Jeff a knowing look. _'Oh, I wanna watch this.'_

Lucas narrowed his eyes in suspicion at Tony's thought, then looked down at the mug in his hand. It smelled like ordinary, run-of-the-mill fresh coffee.

He braved a sip anyway.

It tasted like ordinary, run-of-the-mill fresh joe. Tony was probably pulling his leg.

Lucas watched his reflection on the glossy surface of the hot drink, brooding over his current predicament. His psychic power was erratic, and his botched teleportation attempt landed him in a place he'd never been to before. Tom Garrickson might have taught him teleportation, but what about the rest of his PSI?

Thinking back, Lucas realized he could summon psionic shapes after helping the McKinley's find their killer. When Ness almost lost his life in their encounter with that mutant ant, Lucas discovered he could heal wounds as well. It seemed every new ability he learned was tied somehow to a particular event in his life.

 _'I'm willing to bet Lucas' ability is fuelled by some corny sentiment like friendship or love'_

Maybe that was the case; he almost always learned a new ability after an emotionally-charged event.

Lucas noticed he's already drunk his way through the mug. This coffee's really good, and for some reason, Lucas felt himself in much better shape already, as if his body and mind were brand new.

He took one last sip, then gazed into the now-empty cup, feeling a strange sense of rejuvenation flowing through him. Lucas looked up to see a dumbfounded Tony gape at him, while Jeff shot him a curious stare.

"…What?" Lucas asked after an awkward moment of gawking had passed.

"Wuh—" Tony spluttered. He stopped for a moment, then brought up his hand and presented it to Lucas, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Lucas blinked, "Three. Why do you ask?"

"Saturnian coffee is strange" Jeff said, adjusting his glasses, "One time Tony and I tried some—"

"And we were high as a kite," Tony completed, "I thought you'd be off your rocker, too."

"I see," Lucas hummed. He'd wasted enough time here already, and the newfound recovery gave him enough courage to attempt teleportation again. He placed the mug aside and stood up.

"It was nice meeting you, guys," Lucas said, "But I should go. I really got to be somewhere else right now."

"Wait, you're leaving?" Jeff said, getting up as well, "Need us to drive you back to Threed or—"

Lucas shook his head. "That won't be necessary, thank you."

"Oh," Jeff said, fiddling with a small gadget he got out from his pocket, "As you wish."

Lucas took a deep breath. It was likely he won't meet them again, so he didn't have to worry about explaining what he was about to do. He focused his mind back on the corridor outside the glass board.

"Here goes nothing," he said under his breath, "Teleport."

Jeff and Tony watched Lucas phase out of sight in the blink of an eye. Tony's jaw dropped to the proverbial floor, while a victorious grin spread on Jeff's face as he got up and did a fist pump.

"I _knew_ it," Jeff exclaimed. Tony stared at him as if he grew horns.

"…Knew what?"

"Don't be daft, Tony," Jeff waved his arms, "You couldn't have missed how the Mr. Saturn showered Lucas with attention, _and_ how he chugged a mug of Saturnian coffee and didn't bat an eye. I had a hunch something was different about him the moment I saw him."

"And you're so chuffed about this, why?" Tony crossed his arms, hiding an irked scowl.

Jeff puffed his chest proudly and motioned to a blocky device mounted on a nearby tripod, "I turned on this high-speed camera just before Lucas left. Come on, I bet we got ourselves some fantastic footage."

* * *

 **Back with yet another update. :D I was supposed to post this chapter yesterday, but I received an e-mail from an old forum I used to follow (around 8 years ago) saying it'll shut down this March. I used to make games on RPG Maker and post whatever I made there. I logged in out of curiosity and nostalgia because I haven't used RPG Maker since middle school. Most of the links were dead, but one early demo survived of a game based on Final Fantasy/Chrono Trigger/several other RPGs. I downloaded the thing to check it out.**

 **It. Was. _Dreadful._ The story, dialogue and everything were so horrid it made want to cry. (One character overused 'thou' and 'hath' to make it sound ancient and all) It was a bit of an eye-opener, really. Makes me think if I'd have the same reaction if I reread this story years from now. I hope not.**

 **ANYWAY, that aside, I'm surprised I've written Jeff only now, since he's one of my favourite characters.**

 **Review Responses:**

 ** _Ender2142:_**

 **I'm glad to know I'm doing something right judging from your reactions to Lardna and Tom Garrickson, because I do intend to project Lardna as hateable and Tom as creepy.**

 **Haha, yeah the underdogs don't receive much attention. There are hardly any fanfics out here with Fuel, Tracy or Picky in memorable roles, while the silent protags (who are supposed to have no personality; they're your incarnation in the game) hog all the attention. Ness' father rarely pops in fanfiction too, but I'm hardly the first to include him. He made an appearance in Ceres, This Game Called Life (I think?) among others.**

 **I doubt you could find CT 3 since it's an old PS2 game. Unless you play it on an emulator, that is. It has a lot of jump-scares, so if you're someone who flinches at any sudden loud noise (like me, haha) it could be a stressful thing.**

 **Thanks. :) I try to post updates as frequently as I can, with college work taking up a huge chunk of my time.**

 **(Haven't gotten the new crop of DLCs on SSB4 yet. I'll have to download them first haha)**

 ** _Connor the speling pro:_**

 **I like villains who can have a sympathetic side. I think evil-for-the-sake-of-evil villains are the hardest to pull off, despite the apparently simplistic personality. (Kefka Palazzo of FF6 is arguably the best example of such antagonists, and he's markedly complex)**

 **Maybe they're making a video game for Mistborn to attract a larger audience? If they pull off a well-made game, it would prop up the series. Just don't hire me for the job. XD**

 **Haha, try one of the lesser-used canon characters. Teddy? Master Belch? B.H. Pirkle? Runaway Five? There are a lot of characters out there, but don't feel like you have to chain yourself to a certain "catalogue". If none fit the mould you want, an OC is almost always better than an OOC canon figure.**

 **Yeah, looking back at the chapter, it *is* non-sequitur to make her wake up somewhere unfamiliar, see an unconscious boy on the floor, drag him in and not be weirded out when he assures her nothing's wrong. Maybe because she's 9, I wouldn't expect her to be _too_ cognizant of Tom's creepiness.**

 **Trent's got on the business side of Tom's vengeance. Pretty much like how Lucas exacted revenge on Frank Fly, but with more extreme, more permanent results. And I feel really sorry for Picky. He was dealt a rotten hand when it comes to family, since he seems to be the only 'okay' member of the Minches. Although I'm probably dramatizing his situation somewhat with the food deprivation and beat ups, he does get beat up in the Japanese version of Earthbound, and is cut off of desserts for "the rest of the decade" along with Pokey, so not much deviation from canon here. :P**

 ** _SunnyStrikerz:_**

 **Thanks. :) I'll try to post updates more frequently, but usually there's a 1-3 weeks gap between updates.**


	20. Chapter 20 - Doors

**Chapter 20 - Doors**

Relief and dread simultaneously filled Lucas upon finding himself standing outside the glass cell he was in prior to his botched teleportation. It was a stroke of luck he ended up teleporting just outside the cell. He took a step forward, bumping his foot against a limp body Lucas recognized as Pokey. Shocked, Lucas bent down to examine the beaten teen. Despite the painful-looking bruises, Pokey lied down on his side, fixing the floor with a frozen stare. A faint sound of whimpering reached Lucas' mind.

 _'…Not this one. No, they won't take it from me'_

He blinked to find himself in a familiar hallway. This must be inside Pokey's head. Lucas stood up and walked down the endless path. The whispering sound grew louder as Lucas continued forward. The whole place carried over ominous echoes of choked sobs and whispers, yet Pokey had no immediate thoughts whatsoever. Several doors were ajar, showing pits of blackness instead of Pokey's past from the doors.

 _'But I don't wanna do this anymore.'_

Not lingering too long on the vacant rooms, Lucas continued onwards, curious as to find out where the weeping and whispering came from. It didn't seem to be originating from a memory. He stopped in his tracks when the hallway abruptly came to an end. It simply ended with a dark void as far as the eye could see, save for a tiny, faraway glint of light. To his left, Lucas discovered the source of the peculiar sounds.

Leaning against a door, just before the discontinuity in the hallway, Pokey curled up, arms against his knees and his head was buried inside his arms as his shoulders convulsed in anguished sobs. Bloodshot eyes peered through a messy mop of hair to meet Lucas' own when he approached the boy.

"I want out," Pokey whispered, breathing rapidly, "I just wanna get out of here."

"Who did this to you?" Lucas asked, bending down to Pokey's level. It was an unnecessary question since he already knew who would've attacked Pokey like so. Pokey threw Lucas a wide eyed look.

"Th-they took everything," he said, "They took everything behind my doors."

"What are you talking about?" Lucas asked, "Who are 'they'?"

"But not this one. They won't take this door from me," Pokey continued with the same neurotic tone, ignoring Lucas' questions, "I can't let anyone take it away from me."

Lucas looked up to the door Pokey guarded. It was scratched up, and the area around the handle had a few nicks and cracks in it. It was obvious Pokey treasured whatever memory happened to be locked in there.

"What memory is that?" Lucas asked. Pokey's eyes changed from hysterical to pleading in an instant. He clambered up on shaky feet, only to collapse with his back against the abused door. He extended both arms in a desperate attempt to block Lucas from coming any closer.

"Are you here to take away this from me? Don't take this door from me. Please, I—"

"I promise I won't take anything," Lucas interrupted, "But may I just look?"

Pokey stiffened, before he reluctantly nodded and crossed his arms over his knees again. Lucas leaned over to peek through the keyhole.

* * *

 _"Papa. Look, I drew this."_

Small, pudgy hands presented a paper with a drawing of a few pink pigs on it to a bearish-looking, middle-aged man.

 _(He looks in a foul mood. I think this is a bad idea.)_

 _(But I want him to approve.)_

Aloysius Minch took the drawing and gave it an indifferent glance. He took a drag from his fat cigar and shook his head.

'Tsk. Don't you have anything better to do?" he grumbled, bunching up the paper and gruffly tossing it aside, "Stupid kid."

 _(No! Why?)_

Chubby legs rushed to the balled up paper, which got wedged behind a couch. Carefully, the hands picked up the paper and hurried outside the house. There was this safe shade underneath a big tree down the street. Down there, nobody would crumple the drawing. A bitter lump made it difficult to breathe or swallow as the pair of plump hands tried straightening up the paper. Crying right now sounded like a foolish thing to do, but tears began to blur everything.

 _"Right. Don't I have anything better to do… Stupid, dumb—"_

A shadow covered the drawing the moment when the hands reached to tear it apart. Instead of the dreaded silhouettes of Aloysius or Lardna, a curious, small boy stared back from under a red, ridiculously large baseball cap that covered short, black hair.

 _"What do you want?"_

"Did you draw that?" the boy asked, pointing a finger at the creased sheet.

 _"…Yeah. What do you think of it?"_

 _(Please say it's good.)_

The stranger boy squatted to inspect the crumpled paper up close.

 _"I mean, it's just a stupid drawing. I didn't like the way it came out very much."_

 _(But I spent two hours drawing it.)_

"I like it," the boy said, flashing a grin that missed a baby incisor, "I never noticed piggies had curly tails."

Tiny blue eyes looked down at the silly corkscrew tails on the back of the doodled animals.

 _"They— Yes, they do."_

"What's your name?" the boy sat down and scooted over to the shade.

 _"Pokey."_

"I'm Ness," the capped boy said, "Um, can you teach me how to draw piggies, too?"

The bitter lump vanished, replaced by a bubbling feeling of acceptance. _Appreciation_.

 _"Sure!"_

* * *

Lucas blinked and leaned back to find Pokey assuming the same fetal position with his back against the abused door. His jaw quivered for a moment before he turned his head aside and spat a bloody whitish object Lucas recognized as a tooth.

"Ness used to be my friend," Pokey said in an almost-inaudible mumble, "But I lost him because I was an idiot. It's nobody's fault but mine."

He cast down his eyes and held his head with both hands in shame.

"I was the one who helped Garrickson kidnap Tracy," Pokey continued, "He threatened to take my little brother, too. I don't deserve to ask you this, but please don't let him kill Ness."

Lucas couldn't find anything to say. He glanced at the void and noticed the faint speck of light turned out to be the rest of Pokey's mind. Whatever Tom Garrickson did to Pokey's head was probably temporary, but definitely worse than a hundred scares at the McKinleys' house.

"I'll find Ness and come back. Hang in there," Lucas said. Pokey didn't answer, opting to hide his face again. Lucas stood up and blinked to find himself inside the sterile-looking corridor where Pokey's actual body was. Unlike the mental hallway, it was narrow and had no doors on either side, ending with a big, two-sided door. He gave Pokey's immobile body one last look, then he strode across the corridor in brisk steps, hesitating for a moment at the large exit. He took a deep breath and turned the knob.

Another lengthy corridor faced Lucas. Again, there was only one exit at the end. Lucas sprinted across the barged through the other end to find himself in a glass cell similar to his own, only a black-haired boy occupied the restraining chair instead.

"Lucas," Ness exclaimed, flashing a relieved look, "What a sight for sore eyes."

"Where's Tom Garrickson?" Lucas said, peeking around the glass cube.

"Nice to see you, too," Ness remarked dryly, then tugged on his restraints, "He's not here. I have no idea where did he go. Just get me out of this stupid chair before he comes back."

Lucas stepped behind Ness' chair. He fiddled with the organic-looking cables and controls on the back of the chair. It looked like the underside of an insect, much to his disgust.

"Hurry," Ness whined, squirming about in his seat.

"I'm trying!" Lucas hissed, "But it won't budge."

"Blow it up, genius. I don't care about keeping this pile of crap in working condition."

Lucas bit the inside of his cheek and furrowed his eyebrows. He stepped back and aimed a finger at the chair, willing some of his PSI into being. A blue hexagon flew into the back of the chair, colliding with it in a small explosion. The impact caused the cuffs to retract, and the shock threw Ness off the chair and face-first onto the floor.

"How are you feeling?" Lucas asked, a smirk tugging on his lips as he watched Ness stand up with a groan.

"Agh. Like a million bucks," Ness grunted, arching backwards and rubbing his back with both fists, eliciting a few popping sounds, "Come on. Let's find Tracy and get the hell out of here."

"Right, but how?" Lucas said, then he threw the other chair an uneasy look.

"I wonder what is he planning for us," he mumbled to himself. A shower of colorful rays flew over his head and slammed into the fleshy wall, causing Lucas to reflexively shield his head and turn away. He heard a deafening bang, followed by the sound of shattering glass. He opened his eyes to find Ness standing in front of a gaping hole inside the living wall, a smug grin plastered on his face.

"I think I should do this more often," he said, puffing his chest proudly.

"Don't do that again," Lucas hissed, throwing Ness an irritated look, "I was almost caught in that explosion."

"Never mind that. There's a way out through this thing," Ness said, not wasting any time crawling through the hole he'd just made. Lucas watched Ness disappear through the hole, then he followed suit. The passage was stiflingly hot, constricting and slick with a substance Lucas didn't wish to find out its nature.

"Ugh, this is disgusting," Lucas said, making a face at the moist, fleshy walls touching his face, arms and everything.

"Quit complaining," Ness chided, "I'm going to find Tracy. I don't care if I have to wade through guts to save my sister."

Lucas paused for a moment. Ness' resolute tone sparked determination inside him once more. He stiffly nodded and continued on, following behind. After what seemed like an eternity of crawling through the narrowing dark tunnel, the two reached an impasse. The walls ended in a dead end, and a faint light shone from a translucent side in the pipe.

"What now?" Lucas asked. He could only see Ness' shoe from his position below the other boy. He heard Ness grope around the blockage.

"I think this pipe thingy runs through a room here," Ness' voice sounded muffled, "Hold on, I'll get us out."

Lucas knew what Ness was about to do and blocked his ears. A familiar loud bang sounded off, and the pipe exploded outwards. Ness crawled his way out of the pipe through the makeshift exit, followed by Lucas.

"I think I may love doing this," Ness said, helping Lucas up.

"Wugh," Lucas cringed at the gross goop covering them both, "Where are we?"

"Seems to be some central hub in this place," Ness said, surveying his surroundings, "There are so many doors here. How are we supposed to know which one leads to Tracy?"

"More importantly, where's Tom Garrickson?" Lucas looked around the spacious chamber. There had to be at least two dozen exits in this area. "I can't believe he's letting us walk around without opposition."

"Which means we got to watch out for whatever he's got for us," Ness adjusted his hat and continuing forward, "We don't have any other choice. We'll have to just try them out one by one."

He approached the nearest door and turned the handle, but it .

"Locked," Lucas said, "Let's try the next."

"It's just a slab of scrap metal," Ness scoffed, backing up a few steps, "I'll just blow it open."

"Ness, don't—" Lucas warned, but the capped teen already threw his attack at the door. Inches before the light rays collided with the metal, they seemed to have hit a barrier and reflected back. Ness yelped and jump away from its path, while Lucas froze in his place. The small badge on his shirt glowed a faint shimmer, causing the attack to deflect towards a nearby wall, while knocking him backwards. Lucas gaped at the Saturnian badge in surprise for a few seconds, before shooting Ness an irate glare.

"I told you, knock that out!" he yelled as he got up, "You'll get us both killed."

"Sorry," Ness rolled his eyes, "I tend to be, uh, destructive when I'm frustrated."

"Well, try to contain your destructive tendencies, then."

"Okay, no more rocking psychic explosions, I promise," Ness huffed, "But how did you deflect my attack?"

Lucas glanced at the small badge, then shrugged. "Beats me."

Almost all the remaining exits were locked as well, and Ness didn't try his PSI attack after nearly blasting the two of them to bits. Luckily, the last door in the room tried clicked and swung open, but Lucas couldn't shake the feeling they were being led on. They strode along

Ness' footsteps abruptly stopped, but Lucas continued on. He stopped when Ness called after him.

"L…Lu-cas," Ness sounded like struggling against something. Lucas faced the other boy to find him frozen mid-stride. Yellow sparks pinned his legs to the floor and held his body in a stiff pose.

"Run," Ness grunted, struggling against the paralyzing PSI, "It's a trap."

"I knew you'll come back," a voice called from behind them. Lucas turned around to find Tom Garrickson standing in the middle of the space between them and the sole exit, where Trent blocked it with his large frame. Immediately, Lucas conjured a few glowing hexagons and cast towards at the redhead, who made no attempts to avoid getting hit. Lucas and Ness watched in horror as a fountain of blood gushed from Tom's destroyed arm, drenching his face and side with crimson.

"I've… felt worse," he said in an almost-bored tone, cradling the remains of his left arm with his other hand, "Knowing I'll leave this body soon, I guess I don't have to leave a pretty corpse behind."

A glowing, green aura sealed the gaping wound, leaving behind a clean stump at the elbow. He tensed into a hostile stance, phasing out of existence and appearing an inch away from the two. Before Lucas could react, Tom Garrickson caught him in the gut with a surprisingly powerful punch.

Lucas doubled over, unable to breathe. He took a step backwards, clutching his stomach in pain.

"I wonder, Lucas," Tom mused, "Why would you even care about Ness? It isn't like you to grow attached to people."

 _'This is impossible,'_ Lucas thought, placing his arms in a protective 'X' as Tom Garrickson threw another punch with his good fist. The redhead had a sickly body that was one limb short, but he more than made up for it with jarringly fast teleportation. Lucas struggled against the barrage of punches and kicks. He wasn't as strong as Ness, but he would easily overpower Tom Garrickson if the redhead didn't use teleportation to his advantage. He thought of using teleportation as well, but he wasn't sure he could attempt to do so without getting stranded in a faraway place again.

In that moment of indecision, Tom materialized behind Lucas and landed a kick at his back, causing him to lose balance and fall down.

"It isn't about Ness," Tom Garrickson taunted, "It's all about you, isn't it?"

"It's about your own selfish reasons, huh?" he continued, taking a step forward. "You want to play savior for once. You wouldn't care about Ness otherwise. Or perhaps you think I've gone 'bad' and it's up to you to stop me."

Lucas gritted his teeth. Tom Garrickson hit too close to home. He didn't want to lose another person so close; he'd already suffered enough losses.

Tom Garrickson lifted his chin at him, "But I was never that scared little kid from the orphanage, Lucas. It was an elaborate lie even a mind reader like yourself bought," he said, his grin reducing to a cruel smile, "I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. You're on fire."

Searing pain erupted all over Lucas' body as flames appeared from the floor and engulfed him. He let out a bloodcurdling scream and thrashed at his sides in an attempt to extinguish the sudden fire. His knees buckled, and his entire body collapsed as the flames ate at his flesh.

"Feel the pain I've been through all my life, Lucas," Tom Garrickson's voice snarled through the fire. His voice started to shift, taking on Ness' voice.

 _"You punched me,"_ Ness spat, _"You ran away on me."_

 _"You left me to die. It's your fault,"_ Claus' voice sounded off as mad cackles burst inside Lucas' head. The flames grew brighter, and before the last shreds of Lucas' sanity gave in to the blinding pain, a feeble wisp of a memory passed through his head through the maddening agony.

 _'We'll always be watching for you.'  
_

Lucas closed his eyes and forced himself to take a shaky breath. He opened his eyes and exhaled, feeling the pain subside as the illusion of flames disappeared.

"Nice… little… trick," Lucas panted, wiping sweat off his eyebrow and standing up, "But it won't work on me."

He looked up, throwing Tom Garrickson a challenging glare, "Fair enough. Two can play this game. Teleport!"

Lucas blinked out of existence, materializing right in front of the redhead. He headbutted Tom in the face, causing the latter to fall back, clutching his now bloodied nose. The blow seemed to have broken the paralysis PSI on Ness, who ran and grabbed Tom Garrickson from behind, twisting his arm behind his back while pinning his neck with an elbow.

"Don't do anything funny, or I'll snap your damn neck," Ness screamed into Tom's ear, "Where's Tracy? Answer me!"

Lucas' eyes met Tom Garrickson's confident gaze. Despite Ness immobilizing him, and blood seeping from a broken nose and a split lip, he flashed Lucas a toothy grin.

Ness' shouts and curses grew distant as Lucas' surroundings distorted into a familiar hallway. The walls and doors were green, and torches fixed on the walls gave the whole place an eerie glow.

"You're right, Lucas. Two can play this game, too," Tom said, flashing a smirk, "So… How about you show me yours?"

Lucas furrowed his eyebrows.

"What are you getting at?" he asked, before he noticed the part of the hallway around and behind him turned blue, while the redhead's side was still green.

It took Lucas a split second to realize what was going on.

"Let's make it a game of willpowers," Tom Garrickson said, "I want to see if my will to live trumps your will to protect your friend."

Lucas' scowl deepened. The green-eyed boy was probably toying with him, so he had to tread carefully.

"The rules are simple, and I've got nothing to lose," Tom Garrickson said after a moment of sizing each other up. He abruptly extended his arm, and a psionic fireball hurtled towards Lucas' direction, missing him by an entire foot. The blond turned to see the fireball smash through a blue door and exploding.

A faint image of Alec crossed Lucas' vision, then it shattered into dust, taking every memory of the old man with it.

"No!" Lucas gasped, color draining from his face. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember his own grandfather anymore. He faced the green-eyed teen with horrified eyes.

"We'll destroy each other from the inside," Tom Garrickson said, "Come on, Lucas. Let's play."

* * *

 **OK, so it's been a while since the last update. I don't know if it sounds like it, but this story is almost at its conclusion, probably one or two chapters to go, so bear with me. :P . I thought the story would be at around ~70-75K words at the end, but maybe it's because of the ANs and review replies. I want to get this story done so I could work again on Academic Acceleration and a Mother 3 fanfic I have under planning. I've written down a plot outline, a few chapters and even a roughly-defined ending, but no idea when will I set it down into neat, presentable form. It's** **kinda dark, and it's around yet another central characters rarely used in fanfiction, since, you know... it's a thing I do.** **Anyway, onto the review responses:**

 _ **SunnyStrikerz:**_

 **You're welcome. ^^**

 _ **Ender2142:**_

 **Eh, Clock Tower 3's 14 year old graphics would almost look comical nowadays. The story is still chilling, but I think execution counts a lot in the creepy factor.**

 **I feel accomplished I managed to take out some of your game time. I can totally relate to getting so hooked on a game that I pay little attention to anything else, so yay me! XD**

 **Huh. I listen to music mostly when I do homework or study. I just put my iPod on random shuffle, so I get a mishmash of rock, game OST, or even classical music. :P**

 **The minor-need-more-spotlight characters tend to be more complex than the protagonists in this kind of games. We don't know anything about Ness other than whatever his family, friends and townsfolk say about him. Otherwise, he's just that stubby, cute 16-bit sprite that is intended to be the avatar of the player themselves. Minor characters tend to have more depth because they can talk and express their personalities better.**

 **Don't rush on updating your story. You should write at your own pace, without feeling pressured to do so. :)**

 _ **vendo tacos:**_

 **Although I didn't understand most of the review even with Google Translate, um, muchos gracias por comentar de todos modos. ^^"**

 _ **hellolord307:**_

 **I'm imagining Claus doing the falcon punch and it's rightly hilarious. XD**

 _ **Connor the speling pro:**_

 **Never heard about the Order of the Stick, but that villain sounds like my kind of guy. I'd totally root for a smart villain. Keeping the D &D theme, I think Tom Garrickson fits under the 'Neutral Evil' alignment. Maybe that character fits under that, too?**

 **Heh, yeah. Master Belch would sound too ridiculous anywhere. Seriously, Nintendo meant what they said when they described the game's cast of villains as "kooky." I'd love to see how would you write Dalaam or Scaraba, especially the latter since almost nobody bothered to write it in fanfiction, so it should be interesting. I don't mind OOC characters with a justifiable reason - Dr. Andonuts is OOC because he _isn't_ Dr. Andonuts, right? :P**

 **Yeah, Tom Garrickson seems to only cares about his own well-being, giving secondary importance to ethics and goodwill. In a way, the more desperate he's getting, the less stable he becomes. Given the chance,**

 **Right. The Franklin Badge. It is going to play a key role later, although its function in this chapter wasn't as big as I wanted it to be. I did say this story is gonna end soon. Dragging on too much would make the story boring. I already did the same mistake with Academic Acceleration with its slow plot.**

 _ **A Polar Bear:**_

 **Thanks a lot. :D**

 _ **AriatheAlpha:**_

 **I'm very happy you liked this story. Knowing I made someone laugh at the lighter moments of it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. :)**

 **Hahahaha the 22 Jump Street moment makes sense haha. Now only add Tony to the mix, where he points and says, "It's Jefe, man." That's genius!**

 **Thank you, and I'm really sorry I couldn't respond to your PM in time. DX**

 _ **Nightfrightpony:**_

 **Thanks. I'll try posting the next update soon. :)**


	21. Chapter 21 - The Will to Live

**Chapter 21 - The Will to Live**

Disbelieving eyes watched the void in the blue wall where the memories used to exist.

Nothing.

Lucas couldn't remember a single thing about his own grandfather anymore. To him, the old man's features became a foggy haze at best, as if he stood behind a wall of frosted glass. Lucas faced his opponent with an icy scowl. The green hallway grew larger, eating into his space as Tom Garrickson stared back with a satisfied smirk.

"Your turn, Lucas."

Despite his best efforts, Lucas only managed to conjure a few pale hexagons and aimed them towards Tom Garrickson's memories in retaliation. He grinned in triumph when he managed to blast down a few doors, but his grin faltered when Tom Garrickson summoned a bigger volley of psionic fire.

"Think better," Tom Garrickson jeered, launching his fireballs, "My memories only hold me back, but yours make you stronger."

Lucas ignored Tom Garrickson's taunts as he attacked the fireballs with his PSI in an attempt to block them. One wayward fireball slipped and slammed into one of his memories. The figures of the McKinley ghosts flashed by Lucas' eyes for the last time, before they vanished from his mind forever.

"I can't go on like this," Lucas hissed under his breath. Frantic eyes searched for a way to stop the redhead from doing further damage, before they landed on one rusty, chained door far inside the green hallway. _That's it._ If only he could somehow force out the repressed part of Garrickson's mind, he would put an end to this fight.

Without thinking on it further, Lucas charged forward with a loud scream, sending his PSI into Tom's direction, causing the latter to respond with another barrage of fire. As the two psionic attacks collided in a deafening explosion, Lucas shielded his eyes with his elbow and sprinted towards his adversary. He emerged from the dust, plowing into the redhead and catching him off-guard.

"Teleport," Lucas hissed, materializing in front of the sealed door. Tom Garrickson let out a curse and got up, breaking into a dash towards Lucas, who hit the latches with both PSI and fists. Tom appeared behind Lucas and grabbed onto the back of the taller boy's shirt in an attempt to dislodge him.

"What are you doing? Get off."

Lucas struggled to keep his grip. For a rusty, decrepit door, it was unnaturally strong. He threw slew of hexagon attacks at the locks, before finally forcing the creaky hinges inwards. Lucas rushed in the locked memory with Tom Garrickson right behind him. It revealed a small, sparsely-furnished bedroom. A closet, a dresser, and a mirror where he saw the reflection of a small crib in the back of the room. The sound of a child crying filled their ears.

"What is this? What have you done?" Tom stood stiffly and gritted his teeth in anger, but his eyes reflected obvious fear. Apprehension. Lucas had a feeling he'd seen a glimpse of this room before. There was noted blur all over the place, and everything lacked fine detail.

He turned around, spotting the white crib across the room from a large, unmade double bed. He approached the crib and leaned over. An unhappy baby lied in there, its face almost redder than its hair. It stopped crying long enough to listen to the faint sound of feet climbing up the stairs outside the room, before bursting in tears again. A woman entered the room, oblivious of the presence of the two teens as she picked up the child. She rocked the howling baby, whispering gentle words into its ears. Slowly, the child calmed down to a few whimpers.

Tom Garrickson watched her with a fixed expression and balled his hand into a white-knuckled fist. Lucas noted how similar the woman looked to the other boy, having the same red hair and bright green eyes. The woman flinched when a loud, low-pitched noise came from outside, accompanied by flashes of dazzling light. The baby began howling immediately, and the woman, whom Lucas presumed to be the baby's mother, drew her child closer to herself with one arm and peeked through the curtains above the crib with the other. Cars blared their alarms, and the rumbling sound grew louder and closer.

Lucas heard a breaking noise, followed by the sound of a man screaming from outside the door. A moment later, the ominous, imposing figure of a huge starman with spikes on its shoulders brought down the door with a good portion of the wall around it. Lucas saw the body of a man lying in the corridor behind the machine, drenched in blood. The starman walked into the small room as the woman let out a terrified shriek.

 _"Kill the woman,"_ a deep voice sounded from within the alien machine. _"Awaken this child, and bring him to me."_

The starman extended its arm, and shot a white-hot psionic ray at the mother, killing her instantly. Her corpse fell on its knees, still cradling the boy in her hold. The starman approached the murdered mother and picked up the child from her clutches, laying the boy on top of the dresser. Its bulky body obscured the crying infant from Lucas' view as it seemed to have transferred some of its own PSI to the boy. He began glowing, sending off an enormous surge of psionic energy, causing the starman to stop and reevaluate the child in front of it.

Outside, the sky clouded over with a purple haze, and dozens of flaming meteorites descended from the sky. The street disappeared in flashes of explosions, before the fallen meteorites engulfed the house. Blinding light forced Lucas' eyes shut. Everything faded to black save for the child, whose body ceased to glow.

Tom Garrickson watched everything with wide eyes, before looking up at Lucas. Their eyes met, but the redhead broke it off, choosing to glare at his feet. Lucas approached the child and picked it up, sheepishly rocking it in an attempt to calm it down, to no avail.

"Giygas lied," Tom Garrickson's voice was barely above a whisper. "He did it. He tried using _me_ to break himself free at first. He messed me up instead."

Lucas remained silent, watching Tom Garrickson pace back and forth.

"He killed my parents, Lucas," Tom stopped, flashing Lucas a sad smile. "You were right. It was a deal with the devil, after all."

Lucas glanced at the child in his arms. Instead of vile, dark thoughts completely breaking its owner, this locked door ended up holding the ghastly memory of a scared infant. He looked up to see Tom Garrickson point his good arm at him the same way the starman did.

"PK Beam."

Lucas' eyes bulged as sharp pain pierced him. He looked down to see the light beam had left a clean hole in his chest. The child in his arms disintegrated into dust as Tom Garrickson momentarily glowed the same bright aura as his infant self.

"I'm sorry, Lucas," Tom Garrickson's gaze hardened as Lucas' form began to wane, "I'll have to face Giygas myself. I'll need you to bring him out for me."

* * *

Ness went quiet when Tom Garrickson's body suddenly went limp in his hold. His eyes darted back and forth between Lucas' glassy-eyed stare and the redhead.

"Lucas?" Ness said, giving the blond a questioning glance, before looking again at the redhead. He gasped when he saw Lucas' eyes turn inward as he fell on his knees, two thin trails of blood trickled from his nostrils. Ness tightened his elbow around the shorter teen's neck.

"What the hell did you do to—"

A powerful blast of PSI flared from Tom Garrickson's body, sending Ness flying back. A group of starmen teleported around the three. Ness clambered up, his fists glowing with PSI.

"Bad idea," Tom Garrickson said, standing up and straightening his clothes. "They can shoot you before you realize it, so don't bother."

Ness swore and gritted his teeth. One of the starmen kept its arm trained on him as it approached and stopped behind his back. Trent picked up Lucas' catatonic form.

"Don't do anything too sudden," Tom Garrickson said. "You wouldn't want to test their aim."

The starmen herded the two psychics out. Tom Garrickson trailed behind with slow steps, eyebrows furrowed in deep thought.

* * *

Tracy woke up with a start. She got up and looked around. She last remembered talking to that redhead, Tom, then everything went fuzzy afterwards. She hopped off the platform and exited the vacant room, padding along the cold corridor to the other side. She half-expected to run into someone by now, but she found herself inside a small room with electronics occupying half of the small space. She approached the strange equipment, realizing most of the devices looked _alive_ with twitching pipes and controls. She made a disgusted face at the gross machinery, and turned back to exit the room. Her foot bumped against a grey lever, kicking it the other way with little effort. A rattling sound beneath her made her jump in her place, before the floor tiles under her feet gave way. Tracy fell with a shriek, ending up landing painfully on hard floor. She looked above her at the tunnel in the ceiling she fell out from. It closed up in a fluid motion, leaving behind little evidence of its existence.

Tracy stood up and examined her surroundings, which looked identical to the corridor she'd been in a few minutes ago. She gasped when she saw a familiar chubby teen struggling to stand up a few feet ahead. Picky would be so upset if he saw his brother in such bad shape, she thought.

"Pokey!" she called, hurrying towards her neighbor. Pokey did a double take at the girl.

"Tracy?" he mumbled, giving her a dumb, open-mouthed stare. "How the… Uh, how did you end up here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Tracy said. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing," Pokey grunted, forcing himself upright. "I'm fine."

Tracy frowned and gave him a disbelieving look. He averted his gaze from the smaller blonde, who opened her mouth to pry further.

"Listen, uh, I think I know a way out of here," Pokey stammered. "Ness was looking for you. Why don't we go find him?"

Upon hearing her brother's name, Tracy's face lit up.

"Really?" she said, looking up with hopeful eyes.

"Uh, yeah." He cleared his throat and straightened up. He wiped dried blood off his upper lip. "Yeah, I do."

* * *

Tony watched a group of eight Mr. Saturn stack themselves in a wobbly column in front of a cave, basking in the afternoon sun. He sighed and shook his head, noting they only did that when Maxwell left to buy stuff from the nearby town. Threed was a gloomy place, with a giant cemetery almost the size of the town itself, yet Maxwell loved it. "It has character," he would say, and pout whenever Jeff or Tony turned down an offer to accompany him in favour of Dr. Andonuts' dubiously pleasant company.

A nudge to his knee brought Tony out of his thoughts. He looked down to see one of the creatures staring up at him expectantly with a plate of some food on top of its head.

"No, thank you. I'm not in the mood for peanut cheese," he said, shooing the Mr. Saturn. Whatever they put in their food was probably illegal, even if that dodgy Lucas fellow drank himself a cupful of the bloody stuff and didn't bat an eye.

The wonky stack in front of him collapsed in a mess of stubby creatures and nasal cheers, announcing the return of one Maxwell, who carried a few shopping bags in hand and a newspaper tucked under his arm.

"Back from the graveyard?" Tony called once Maxwell became within earshot. The older student walked over and whacked Tony on the head with the newspaper, knocking his hat off.

"Don't get cheeky with me, lad," Maxwell said, feigning annoyance. He looked around, "Did the doctor blow up anything while I was away?"

"Not yet," Tony replied, picking up his hat and placing it back on his head.

"Ah. I should go back before he does," Maxwell replied, tossing the newspaper at Tony, "Don't slack about for too long. Be useful and go help Jeff with whatever he's doing."

Tony gave a noncommittal shrug and nodded. He picked up the newspaper and glanced at the front page. One particular headline caught his eye.

 **'** ** _Multiple child disappearances remain unsolved, Onett police say'_**

Underneath, there were four pictures depicting three boys and a girl. Tony did a double take at one of the boys. He totally looked like that kid from earlier. Tony read 'Lucas (13) from Onett' under the picture, confirming his suspicion. He wasn't bright at geography, but Tony recalled a road sign telling that Onett was like an hour's drive from this place.

"I can't believe this." Tony jumped and ran towards the small settlement, yelling Jeff's name at the top of his lungs.

* * *

Ness felt numb through the entire walk, putting a foot in front of the other in the a lifeless stride much like the machines surrounding him.

There was nothing he could do now — Tom Garrickson had won. That thought repeated over and over in Ness' head as the starmen marched him forward. He was fully aware of the implications. Tom Garrickson would break out the alien who built this place in exchange of a new body, namely his. It hardly stirred any indignation at the fact he's going down without further fight.

Ness peeked behind his shoulder at Tom. Surprisingly, he looked ill at ease. He dragged his feet behind himself, staring at the floor with a troubled look. Ness mentally berated himself for feeling a little concerned for the redhead. He busied himself with staring at the brute carrying Lucas at the front. The blond was a mess. Blood, dirt and the slimy stuff from the wall matted his hair and stained his clothes. Ness was sure he looked just as awful. Glancing at his own body, he saw the yellow-and-teal shirt Lucas lent him after that encounter at Giant's Step. He vaguely remembered Lucas wore the same shirt when they went to Fourside on that field trip. It all seemed like a very distant memory now.

The starmen at the front stopped in front of a wall that blocked their path. The ground vibrated beneath Ness' feet as the wall parted cleanly to reveal a massive chamber concealed behind it. The starman behind Ness prodded him with its pointy arm, prompting him to walk in. The chamber was littered with flesh tubes, obscuring the dark floor. A rumbling breathing sound filled the silence.

With every squishy step, a feeling of animalistic terror crept down Ness' spine. His heart thudded in his ears, overpowering the slow heartbeat emanating from the chamber, and his tongue felt like a dry sponge. A colossal machine towered in front of them, an eye-shaped orb took most of its face area. Fat cables of twitching flesh connected around the eye, adding to the demonic look of the machine. The sight made his stomach turn.

A large starman with spikes took Lucas' body from Trent and laid him inside a vertical pod in the side of the chamber that looked like an upright coffin. Ness watched as a faint aura emitted from the pod as it closed, extending through a row of fleshy tubes convulsing in mad twitches towards the big machine. The breathing sound filling the room quickened as the machine generated sparks of static around its edges.

"This thing should sap Lucas' PSI to give Giygas enough power to break out from this thing," Tom Garrickson said, shrugging. "If he's got enough PSI, that is."

Ness instinctively took a step in Lucas' direction. The moment his foot touched the ground, his body went numb as paralyzing PSI pinned him in his place.

"I told you," Tom Garrickson sighed in disappointment, "No sudden moves. You're lucky they didn't shoot you on the spot."

Soon after he said that, the 'eye' in the middle of the machine flared to life. A distorted reflection appeared in the middle of the vertical iris, then a red haze emitted from the machine and converged around the eye in the shape of a disfigured, inhuman skull. Whenever Ness stared too long into the eye, his vision went blurry and tunnelled. He chose to avert his gaze.

"T-that's one ugly bastard," he said in an attempt to show defiance. The paralyzing PSI around Ness tightened until he cried out. The red skull cracked into some semblance of a toothy grin.

 ** _'Impertinent child!'_** A deep, guttural voice bellowed in Ness' head, **'** ** _I am the Abominable One. Condemned to sail through the cosmos, never to return. Know who I am. You should be trembling in horror.'_**

Ness winced at the mental screaming, a headache already began throbbing behind his eyes.

 **'** ** _But you have other things to be frightened of.'_** The eye focused on Tom Garrickson. **'** ** _I am not the one who wants to kill you; he is.'_**

Tom Garrickson scowled, glaring at the large starman next to the glowing tubes. "Shut up. I know what you did to me."

Ness's eyes widened in confusion as Tom Garrickson faced the spiked starman with hostile intent, conjuring fire above his hand.

 **'** ** _I understand.'_** The massive pupil dilated, **_'This child reads the mind. I am impressed he made you remember; I locked your memories myself.'_**

Tom Garrickson snarled, his fireball growing twice in size.

 ** _'Foolish one! You wish to bite the hand that feeds you.'_**

"PK Fire." Ness felt the psionic fireball's searing heat as it passed in front of him, before it blasted the starman, slamming it into the tubes connecting Lucas to the alien's entrapment.

The machine roared and sparked as the skull dissipated into a thick, crimson fog. The massive starman let out electronic whirrs, extricating itself from the broken tubes as its cracked visor blinked to life.

Ness saw the Tom Garrickson attack the starman in his peripheral vision. His spine tensed at the frightening thought of a wayward fireball or beam finding its way to his helpless position. Despite its bulky size and worn exterior, the starman fought back with breakneck speed, parrying Tom Garrickson's blows and fire PSI with incredible accuracy. Tom teleported a foot above the starman and shot a fireball at the top of its head, shattering the visor to pieces and blowing off the whole side of its head.

"PSI… Brainshock…" The starman uttered through the electronic garble, then it went completely silent. A scream sprang from the redhead's throat as he landed on the floor, clutching his head in pain.

The PSI holding Ness in place vanished along with the painful numbness in his legs. He ran towards Lucas, looking back at Tom Garrickson's shaking body. He turned around and wedged his fingernails between the glass-like lid and the pod itself, pulling hard. It opened with a cracking noise, with Lucas falling forward on all fours. The blond opened his eyes, looking up at Ness with wide, fear-glazed eyes. He balled his fists and scrambled towards Ness, screaming unintelligible words.

"Whoa, easy there," Ness said, grabbing Lucas' weakly flailing arms and holding them in place. "It's just me."

As Ness helped Lucas calm down, Trent's face pulled in a scowl as he turned around and left the hall.

* * *

Pokey let out a dismayed squeak upon seeing a gaping hole in one of the holding cell sides. Shattered glass littered the floor, and Ness was nowhere to be seen.

"Who did this?" he whispered, approaching the big hole inside the fleshy wall. Tracy pulled a face at the messy place.

"Are you sure Ness was here?" she asked, inspecting the ruined chair in the middle of the room.

 _(I put him there myself!_ )

Even though his actions weren't exactly his own, Pokey vividly remembered hauling his former friend on that very chair. Unless Ness _somehow_ broke away. With Lucas' help, no doubt. Pokey had no idea whether he should be relieved or utterly terrified.

"Ew, it's all sticky," Tracy's voice caught his attention. He saw her mess around the wall with the hole in it, her face showing nothing but curiosity and slight disgust.

 _(How is she keeping her cool against this unnerving shit?)_

"I think you should keep away from that. Watch the glass," he said, examining Garrickson's chair. Pokey recalled the guy had it hooked so it can go up one level. He saw the redhead using it once to get to the upper layer of this place by tapping on a button hidden under one of the arms. Pokey uncomfortably stuffed himself in the narrow seat and traced shaky fingers on the sole button. A distant churning noise filled his ears as the fleshy equipment began throbbing, making Tracy flinch back with a yelp.

"Uh, Tracy?" Pokey called, gesturing for her to come over. "Come on, this chair should take us up."

She rose up and approached him. Only then he noticed there was no room for her to sit. He awkwardly patted the arm to his left. Tracy sat there and held on the fabric of his shirt, drawing Pokey to the fact he'd been sweating bullets. He pushed the button, praying the device would actually take them 'upstairs' instead of killing the two of them.

Luckily, the chair only rattled and ascended slowly, stopping at the central level. Pokey got off the chair after Tracy hopped off and looked up at him. Another hole down the hallway hinted Ness and Lucas most likely passed through here recently. If they were smart, they'd have gone up here anyway, but he wondered why they didn't simply use the chair. They wouldn't have known anyway.

Pokey motioned for Tracy to follow him, trying his best to show he was unfazed by the maze of rooms ahead. He puffed up his chest, barrelling down with pompous strides towards the only open door. The sound of his sneakers against the floor grated on his nerves as Tracy skipped along to match his brisk pace.

 _(Ugh, freaking squeaky floor!)_

He froze to a stop when he saw a large puddle of red ahead of him. Even in the dim light, he fully recognized its nature. Pokey had an overpowering urge to break down in hysterics, vomit and bawl his eyes out in the same time. His pride kept him from losing his composure while a little girl stood there and not even looking scared.

Across the hallway, the familiar towering silhouette of Trent drew closer from the exit, carrying himself in an odd way. Pokey sighed in relief. Unlike the scary starmen, Trent was essentially a walking vegetable who only responded to direct orders. Pokey put on an annoyed scowl, dragging Tracy behind him as he tried to shove the immovable brute aside.

"Move. I don't have time to—"

 _(…His eyes shouldn't be red like that)_

Trent drove a knee into Pokey's gut, causing the latter to double over and crumple onto the floor. Trent moved over to Tracy, fixing her with an impassive stare.

"Let go!" she screamed and kicked as he picked her up and hoisted her on his shoulder. "Ness! _Neeeess!_ "

Pokey watched Trent carry away the girl, gritting his teeth as he struggled to breathe. He pushed himself up on all-fours, his eye twitching from the blinding pain in his torso. His stomach tightened, doubling the agony in his midriff.

"W… Wait," Pokey rasped, crawling in the direction where Trent had taken Tracy.

* * *

"Are you feeling better now?" Ness crouched in front of Lucas' shaking frame. The blond looked less rattled after a minute out of the pod.

"I'll… I'll be fine," Lucas said with a cracking voice. "What happened?"

"Your guess is good as mine," Ness said, jerking a thumb towards the injured redhead and the destroyed starman. Lucas frowned, shifting his gaze towards the now-silent machine.

"Something still feels wrong. Like that… _thing_ is still here, watching us."

Ness looked at the large eye. The tubes around it ceased to convulse, and the reflections on it disappeared.

"I doubt it," Ness said. "Let's not waste time. Tracy's still out there."

"Right."

Lucas stopped a few feet away from Tom Garrickson. He bit his lip, nervously toying with the fabric of his shirt.

"Come on, why are you standing here?" Ness called out. Lucas unclipped the badge on his shirt and leaned down to pin the badge to the redhead's shirt.

"What are you doing?" Tom Garrickson raised his head just enough to face Lucas. His normally vibrant green eyes appeared dull with fatigue.

"I don't know. It just… felt right," Lucas said, then jogged towards Ness.

"We don't have time for pointless crap. He doesn't deserve our pity."

"He's right," Tom croaked, "I don't."

"Shut up!" Ness spat, then faced Lucas. "Come on, let's find my sister."

"The girl is not leaving here yet," an unfamiliar voice declared. Ness and Lucas whipped around to see Trent at the entrance. Tracy stood in front of him, her eyes were unfocused and her face held a vacant expression.

"Tracy!" Ness cried out and hurried towards his sister. Lucas saw Trent extending a hand in Ness' direction. The same malevolent PSI from the machine radiated from his body.

"Watch out!" Lucas yelled as a beam shot out of Trent's palm. Ness jumped to the side, the beam only grazed his elbow. He hissed in pain and pressed a hand to the injury.

"He could use PSI?" Ness gasped, "How?"

"Trent… can't talk," Tom Garrickson panted, standing up on weak legs. "This is definitely not Trent speaking to us."

"It's _him_ ," Lucas murmured. "He's controlling Trent's body."

"You cannot do a thing with your meager powers," Giygas taunted, "Even with only a wisp of my own power released, I still have the upper hand."

"Let my sister go, you coward!" Ness screamed.

"Cowardly indeed," Giygas put a lamenting frown on Trent's face. "To be reduced to hiding behind a human. The disgrace is almost worse than defeat, but I will not hesitate to kill her if you don't do what I say at once."

Lucas clenched his jaw. "Fine. I'll do whatever you want."

"Lucas!" Ness threw him an incredulous look.

"I don't want you nor your sister hurt," Lucas said. "I have no choice, Ness."

"You shall continue where you left off," Giygas said, then faced Tom Garrickson. "I have no use for you anymore, child. Destabilize."

Tom Garrickson recoiled as if bludgeoned with a heavy object, collapsing in front of Ness. Lucas hesitated, staring at the redhead with an unsure look.

"Quickly," Giygas commanded, "I haven't got much time, but I can still break this girl's neck. Stand in front of the tubes, now!"

Lucas took a deep breath, and approached the broken tubes. A moment before his fingertips touched the jagged edges of the tubes, a loud cry sounded from the entrance. He looked up to see Pokey tackling 'Trent' from behind. The impact caused the two to fall to the floor.

"You dare," Giygas bellowed, kicking Pokey off and standing up. Tracy snapped from her trance and looked back. She let out a panicked shriek when she saw the brawl behind her and ran away. Ness called at her, catching her in a tight hug. Giygas made short work of Pokey, landing a final kick onto Pokey's downed form. He turned around, a fierce snarl spread across his face when he registered Tracy was nowhere near him.

"…Trent."

Tom Garrickson rose up, a faint glow engulfed his frame as he approached Giygas with heavy steps.

"You… Go away!" Giygas flung the redhead a few feet back with a blast of PSI. The slight aura around him wavered, but grew brighter as he resumed his steady approach.

"Die," Giygas hurled a beam towards Tom Garrickson. The badge on his shirt deflected the light beam towards Trent's body, striking him in the chest.

"Shh, Trent," the redhead whispered. "This has gone on long enough. Come with me."

He looped his arm around the possessed boy and dragged him towards the giant machine.

"No!" Giygas screamed, struggling to keep the husk of the human under his control, "I'll never go back to such a horrible…"

Tom Garrickson stopped momentarily, then teleported himself and Trent in front of the machine.

"I'm going to destroy this place," he said, casting a grim look towards Lucas. "Leave."

The aura around him dissipated in a dazzling flash. "PK Starstorm"

Purple portals appeared above them, sending down a shower of blazing meteorites. Color drained from Ness' face as he picked up Tracy and ran behind Lucas towards Pokey.

"Get us out of here!" Ness yelled as the meteorites loomed closer.

"Where do we go?" Lucas said.

"Anywhere that's not here!" Ness screamed. Lucas held onto Pokey's arm and grabbed Ness' hand, facing the onslaught of descending meteors. He closed his eyes, concentrating whatever PSI he had left.

"Teleport," he yelled. The last thing he saw was a flaming meteorite crashing into the spot where Tom Garrickson stood, before everything phased out of existence.

* * *

 **Holy cow. I'm very sorry for this lengthy delay. I never expected not updating for more than THREE months. Lesson learned - Next time, I shall have a very well-detailed ending from the start instead of a general outline. To tell the truth, I don't like how this ending came out that much. :/ I'll talk about it more after the epilogue, but for now, here are the r** **eview responses: (Even though they're at least 2-3 months old, it's a bit gauche to leave the reviews unanswered)**

 _ **vendo tacos:**_

 **Although I couldn't understand much of the review because Google Translate had to utterly confuse me, muchas gracias for reviewing. ^^**

 _ **Connor the speling pro:**_

 **Well, in the time between your review and now, you've already written Dalaam. Twice. XD You did a great job at it, too.**

 **Yeah, Pokey is probably one of the most complex characters in the entire three games. I believe Itoi's description of him was that "[Pokey] is truly a poem in himself," wasn't it?**

 **I hope there were enough feels in this... protracted chapter. XD In hindsight, this fanfic could've been better named after Tom Garrickson, and not Lucas. Here's another mental note to pick a more plot-appropriate title as well.**

 _ **SunnyStrikerz:**_

 **Turns out Lucas doesn't lose _all_ of his memories.**

 _ **Ender2142:**_

 **Haha, I know exactly how hard it is to put down a good game, so I feel proud I managed to take a few minutes of precious game time. :D Haven't seen you a lot around here, but I noticed you had a fic up in the Super Smash Bros. section that I haven't read yet. I'll get to that soon. Even though you've asked more than three months ago, you're welcome to PM me about anything.**

 _ **Guest:**_

 **Thanks mate. :)**

 _ **Phoesong:**_

 **Well, I promised to _update_ this fic like three months ago. Well... I'm finally here. XD**

 **Mr. Saturn coffee breaks sure are trippy. I think you know this by now, but Lucas and Co. also get the same psychedelic coffee treatment in Mother 3. I'm surprised that I haven't written much of Jeff yet. Maybe if I put out a new fic in the future, he would have a bigger role. Tony as well.**

 **Yeah, Big Brother Ness is best Ness. XD And I had exactly the same idea that Tracy would somehow wind up in Onett with almost no recollection of what happened, but yeah, it's quite absurd if that happens.**

 **Heh. I think the previous chapter needed much more proofreading than just a comma error. Some lines were totally unsalvageable. I'll have to sweep down this fic for any offending lines soon.** **I'm not sure if Tom Garrickson's circle is now complete. I have a dumb tendency to assume people can somehow follow up with what I'm thinking, so I don't know if his story is now completely obvious. I think it is, but that's up to readers to decide. (...Dang, I sounded like a J.K. Rowling knockoff here, haha)**

 **I don't recall any 10K+ fanfics featuring Fuel as the main protagonist, or maybe I didn't look. That'd be interesting, but I think if I'm going to write another fic, it's going to have multiple protags, with substantial focus on the less-featured characters. (e.g. When was the last time Hinawa was in a long fic's spotlight? *wink*)**

 **See you. :)**


	22. Epilogue

**Note: This is the second bit of a two-part update. If you haven't read the previous chapter, please do so.**

 **Epilogue**

Tony gave Jeff a triumphant grin as he presented the newspaper to his friend. Jeff adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat.

"I… I haven't the foggiest idea," Jeff stammered, "I'm sure there must be a logical explanation to this."

"See? _Everything_ is fishy with that Lucas person, and no mistake," Tony exclaimed, waving the newspaper in Jeff's face while jabbing his finger at Lucas' photo. The blond batted the newspaper away from his face, patiently ignoring the thought of tossing the newspaper into the hot spring behind Tony.

"Then why on earth would he come out of nowhere here?" Jeff asked. "He didn't mention this or ask for help, either."

"What if _he_ was the one who kidnapped the other three?" Tony's eyes widened, "You saw him. He can do freaky stuff. What if he was looking for a place to bury their bodies?"

Jeff fixed his friend with an unamused stare. He opened his mouth to speak, before loud screaming suddenly emerged from a point behind Tony. Jeff heard a splash of water, then Tony let out an unseemly shriek as the splash from the hot spring landed on him.

Jeff stood up and looked over Tony's shoulder at the hot spring, where four kids somehow appeared out of thin air. Tony was soaked to the skin. He looked at his drenched clothes, then lifted horrified eyes at Jeff.

"You still want a logical _explanation?_ " he all but screamed.

* * *

A smile crossed Ness' face when he reached the top of the Meteorite Hill. His dog trudged behind, visibly cranky at the exercise.

"Good morning," he greeted the blond already standing near the edge. Lucas turned around, taking in the other's tired grin and mildly disheveled look.

"Hey," he greeted back. "You don't look like you've had much sleep last night."

Ness barked a laugh. "Neither do you. You look half-dead yourself. Neither of us had a good night's sleep, huh?"

"I don't doubt that," Lucas said with a lopsided smirk. "How did you get out of the house? Your mom's probably still overprotective."

"I had to use King as an excuse," Ness gave an apologetic grin to his dog. "I said I had to walk him even though he prefers lazing around all day. What about you?"

"I just snuck out," Lucas replied with a shrug. "How's Tracy?"

Ness sat down cross-legged next to Lucas. King lied next to a tree behind them and let out a lazy yawn.

"She's fine," Ness looked up at his friend. "Shaken and a little confused, but otherwise fine."

"You know, I can make her forget what she saw—"

"Nah, I'd rather you stay out of my sister's head. Tracy's strong, and I believe she can put this behind her. I'll let you know if she needed it, though."

Lucas sat down and dangled his legs off the edge. He brought up a slightly soggy newspaper in his hand.

"Wasn't this the newspaper that Winterish kid had?" Ness asked, eyeing the paper, "Was it Johnny?"

"Tony," Lucas corrected. "Yes, it's the same one."

"You still didn't tell me how come they knew you."

"Long story."

"I'm surprised they said nothing when you started healing our injuries while we were still in the hot spring." Ness paused for a moment. "No, wait. That Jeff guy didn't shut up afterwards. My bad."

"I might have told them I was a psychic beforehand," Lucas said, folding the newspaper into a cylinder. "What surprises me is that nobody made a huge fuss of our disappearance."

"Because Pokey spun a story about us running away from some blue-wearing cultist kidnappers who wanted to sacrifice us to their god," Ness said with a deadpan.

"I can't believe the media actually bought it."

"Pokey's a compulsive liar. He's _made_ for making up elaborate excuses on the fly," Ness chuckled. "That, and the Minches are quite the litigious bunch. I think the press just figured our story's not worth their headache."

"Litigious." Lucas shot Ness a vacant stare.

"Ah, that's a ten-dollar word for 'they like to sue a lot,'" Ness elaborated.

Lucas hummed then stared into the view.

"You know," Ness said. "I'm still confused."

"About what?"

"Everything," Ness made a vague sweeping motion. "Why did Garrickson turn on that alien? What exactly did I miss?"

"Would you rather he carried his plan to the end?" Lucas gave him a side glance. "We were helpless there, Ness."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"It's sheer luck we're not dead. Tom Garrickson basically had us in his clutches the whole the time."

Ness winced. "That's... reassuring?"

"I told you, it's a long story. I promise I'll explain everything eventually."

Ness nodded, seemingly satisfied with the half-answer. Lucas unfolded the newspaper again and gazed at the front page.

"April 20th," he said, a half-smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Ness gave him a confused look.

"Um, bless you?"

"It was April 20th," Lucas said, pointing at the newspaper's issue date. "When all of this happened."

"What about it?" Ness raked his memory for any significance of that date save for Eagleland's independence day a day prior. Lucas' smile turned a touch wistful.

"Nothing. It's just funny — it was my birthday."

"Uh, happy belated birthday."

"Also it's the day I lost my family in the Pigmask war six years ago."

"Oh." Ness found himself at a loss of words. "I'm sorry."

"Do you believe there's an afterlife, Ness?"

"I… think so. Maybe?"

"I'm not sure if it exists," Lucas looked up, "But if it does. If it were possible, I wish Tom Garrickson would meet my family up there."

Ness' eyebrows shot halfway across his forehead. The blond turned red and nervously scratched his head.

"I know, it's a stupid thought. Forget it."

"Hm…" Ness adjusted his hat. They remained silent for a while.

"You know," Ness piped up, "There is one important thing left to sort out in this horrible mess."

Lucas gave him a questioning look. "Which is?"

Ness broke into a mischievous grin, "You still owe me breakfast at that restaurant, Luke."

.

* * *

 **So... This is it, ladies and gentlemen. This fanfic comes to an end after 3 months of me trying to figure out an ending. As I said in the previous A/N, I'm not too fond of this ending. I rewrote it multiple times, and I still think it could've been a little better and much less, I dunno, "rushed." I guess it's due to the fact I didn't have a very detailed ending in mind until I had to write said ending. Let me know what you guys think. ^^** **Anyway, for those who live in the United States, I think I can still say Happy 4th of July. :)**

 **[review responses:]**

 _ **Connor the speling pro:**_

 **You know April 20th was Mother 3's release date 10 years ago. I thought it'd be an appropriate birthday date for Lucas regardless of the huge potential of 420 jokes. :P I don't blame you for not remembering the story. It's been a huge while since I posted anything and I don't expect anyone to keep up with the story in the meantime.**

 **Yeah, those were my thoughts exactly while writing this ending. I didn't want _that_ much PSI and action around, because I haven't even named PK Love or PK Rockin', and I don't think I write good action to begin with. I wanted to add more about Tom Garrickson's inner conflict, but couldn't figure out how to write it appropriately without changing POVs or something like that. (In hindsight, perhaps I should've put down some dialogue about it just before they entered Giygas' chamber, no?)**

 **I think it was rushed because I didn't want to drag this story on any longer, and the whole situation at the end was messy, so there wasn't much room to tie all the loose ends. And yes, sometimes (most of the time) I didn't really know precisely where the story was going. XD**

 **Thank you. :) I am going to keep writing. It's fun, and I have a few ideas in mind. Might as well put them in words out here. Although it's going to be a while before I post my next fic since I only have ~10K words of some scenes here and there, along with a rough draft of the story's timeline right now.**

 **I know what you mean. Editing back previous chapters somehow feels like wading in a pool of drying concrete. XD**

 _ **Zekeram12:**_

 **Sorry, mate. The original Boney is dead in this fic. :(**

 **I LOL'd at** **"** **POKEY YOU SUCK." Bit cathartic to read. I made 'Pokey' a different person from 'Porky' because why not? :P It's not time shenanigans at work, though. As for Billy's suppressed thought, I haven't the foggiest. It could be anything that is so awful his subconscious chose to hide away in order to appear like a (relatively/somewhat) functioning person.**

 **I'm happy you like this story, but I don't think I can write any sequels for it. Maybe someday I'd make a one-shot about unmentioned details, but not a full fanfic.**


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